Category Archives: Congress

Elridge: Young Americans applaud Obama for delivering payroll tax cut

Posted by rsnyder on February 24, 2012 Comments Off

President Obama yesterday signed into law the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. This bill extends the payroll tax cut and emergency jobless benefits for millions of Americans and more importantly gives relief to millions of Americans who were under threat to pay a heavy price for the inaction of Republicans in Congress more interested in their jobs than putting Americans, especially our generation back to work.

Much has been said of what $40 a paycheck means. Republicans have ridiculed our desire to protect $40 for young Americans who have just found work, for hardworking young families, protect the benefits of all Americans who find themselves out of work and in need of help. For all of their ridicule yesterday, the people still won!

The support for the extension of the payroll tax cuts and emergency jobless benefits means something more personal however. As a husband and as a father, I know, first hand the value of every dollar. From diapers, to formula, to even a date night, a collective $80 from Victoria and I means a great deal to our young family. And even for our present employment, should one of us lose our job, I want to know that as we have played by the rules and worked hard, my government and my community will stand up for me and my family, should we need it, not forever, but for a moment.

Yesterday was about our American community standing by and with our neighbor. The signing of this bill for young people was a confirmation of the dignity of our work by ensuring we have a little more to show for it and a confirmation that in tough times, we do not throw people under the bus, we, at our best lift one another up and for that we as young Americans first, and Young Democrats second, thank and applaud the President.

- Colmon Elridge is Executive Vice President of the Young Democrats of America

Thanks, Obama, for Free Birth Control!

Posted by rsnyder on February 12, 2012 Comments Off

On Friday, President Obama reinforced his commitment to ensuring all women have access to no-cost contraception, regardless of where they are employed.  Despite blistering attacks from Republicans in Congress and conservative pundits, the President refused to play political games with women’s health and stood firm in his commitment to provide access to birth control for those who want it.  Women who work for employers that opt out of covering contraception can now go directly to their insurance companies at no cost.

Take a moment and sign your name to a petition thanking President Obama for his commitment to women’s health

For me, this issue is personal. When I was eighteen years old, I was diagnosed with a condition called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and prescribed birth control pills as treatment. Those pills were not just contraception, they were important preventative medication. I’ve been fortunate enough to afford my prescription, but not everyone is so lucky.

The New York Times recently told the story of another young woman with PCOS, a law student at Georgetown University who didn’t have insurance coverage for her medically necessary pills because the school didn’t offer contraception coverage in their insurance plans. With a cost of $100 per month, she had to stop taking her pills and eventually developed a large cyst on her ovary, which had to be surgically removed.  Something like this could happen to me if I couldn’t afford my medecine, and it could happen to the millions of other women who take contraceptives for PCOS and other conditions like endometriosis and ovarian cancer.

Thankfully, President Obama understands how crucial it is for all American women to have access to no-cost birth control, and he stood up for this important medical benefit.  So, please take a minute to sign our petition thanking the President for standing firm in the face of staunch opposition, and let him know that you support his commitment to ensuring all women have access to comprehensive health care. The President has our back, forging a solution that respects differences of opinion on birth control without sacrificing critical access to affordable contraception. Please take minute to let him know you have his back too.

Sincerely,

Jillian Cardillo
Women’s Caucus Chair
Young Democrats of America

Padilla: Young people are fed up with Washington gridlock, not Obama

Posted by rsnyder on January 11, 2012 Comments Off

YDA Treasurer Jonathan Padilla published an opinion piece on NYTimes.com explaining that the Millennial Generation is fed up with gridlock in Washington but has not lost faith in President Obama.

“Obama has not lost young voters; Washington has. In fact, it’s the president who is one of the remaining champions young people have inside the beltway…  [A recent poll] is being touted as proof that young voters have lost faith in the president, but a closer reading will show that he still defeats any Republican in the presidential field, including an 11-point rout over Mitt Romney.”

You can read the full text of the op-ed here.

 

No Solutions and No Action: The Republican Congress on the Student Loan Crisis

Posted by rsnyder on November 8, 2011 Comments Off

Young Democrat leaders respond to College Republican Chairman Alex Schriver’s recent criticism of President Obama’s Executive Order on student loans:

One trillion dollars; the estimated total of student loan debt in the United States. $25,000; the average student loan debt that a typical American student will graduate with this year. The American student is facing one of the darkest times he or she has ever known and even though having a well-educated and skilled workforce is critical to the U.S. economy’s recovery, the Republican Congress led by Speaker Boehner has no solutions, no relief, and no promise of any action; refusing to engage in constructive discussions to help students struggling to pay their loans.

The President however, has decided to do everything within his power to help the American people.

At the heart of the issue, President Obama’s push to alleviate the loan crisis facing students is not about what he can do, but rather what Congress is either unwilling or incapable of accomplishing. Mitch McConnell and John Boehner have both made it clear that their most important goal is not ensuring America succeeds, but instead, that the President fails. The President has repeatedly made overtures with pragmatic policies. From the discussions on the debt ceiling where spending cuts were offered for revenue increases on a 3 to 1 ratio to a willingness to discuss entitlement reform, President Obama has demonstrated a commitment to bipartisan policy-making that has fallen on deaf ears.

So, the President’s executive order is not the definitive event to solve the looming student loan crisis, it was never intended to do so. It is the first step and a very important beginning to a much broader dialogue that needs to involve Congress, the White House, and the millions of Americans that are already in debt or who are being discouraged from pursuing higher education. According to the Atlantic, the President’s plan will help those average Americans that make less than $45,000 dollars. This means that close to half of all graduates could qualify for the program. Furthermore, the Atlantic says that the program cannot eliminate the burden of student loans but instead, “it intends to help those with lots of student loans who either have a low income after school during their early years or have a relatively low income throughout their career.” Now that’s a plan that all Americans should be able to get behind as we continue to demand real legislative solutions from Speaker Boehner’s do-nothing Congress.

Mr. Schriver is right about one thing in his recent piece however: the skyrocketing cost of education is a very real problem; a problem that weakens our human capital development, a problem that makes America less competitive in the global economy, a problem that threatens the long-term prospects of the American dream. It is the partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill, actively encouraged by the likes of McConnell, Boehner, and Cantor, that is directly impeding a comprehensive overall of the student loan system.  Because as President Obama stated in his recent op-ed to the student newspapers of University of Texas, California State University-Fresno, Texas Tech University, and Harvard, “here in America, when we find a problem, we fix it. When we face a challenge, we meet it. We don’t wait.” The American people can’t afford to wait, the American dream can’t afford to be postponed, the promise of a better tomorrow can’t afford to be held back any longer by a Congress set on filibustering for partisan gain.

- Jonathan Padilla is a senior at Harvard College and Treasurer of the Young Democrats of America.

- Adan Acevedo is a junior at Harvard College and Events Director of the Harvard College Democrats.


NY-9 Special Election: Help send a Democrat to Congress tomorrow

Posted by rsnyder on September 12, 2011 Comments Off

Are you sick and tired of the Republican led Congress dragging their feet while millions of Americans are out of work? Wouldn’t you like to see Democrats take back the House?

Tomorrow, in New York’s 9th Congressional District, voters will go to the polls to elect a new member of Congress. With only a little more than 24 hours to go, the race is very close. The Democratic candidate is pledging to support the President Obama’s job creation plan, while the Republican offers only another vote for Speaker John Boehner and the obstructionist Tea Party agenda.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has built a Phone-From-Home program that allows supporters to call into New York’s 9th District right from their own living room.

Click here if you can spend 20 minutes on Monday or Tuesday calling voters in New York.

We need leaders in Congress who will be part of the solution, not part of the problem. We need men and women who will fight to strengthen our economy by bringing jobs back to our communities. The next national election is 14 months away and Republicans in Congress are content with doing nothing until then. We need leaders in Washington focused on putting America back to work today, not the politics of tomorrow.

Sign up here to join the thousands of Young Democrats across the country who are calling into NY-9.

Tomorrow is Election Day in New York. Let’s do everything we can to make sure this seat remains in Democratic control.

Best Regards,

Marshall Spevak
Campaign Director
Young Democrats of America

YDA Congratulates Congresswoman-Elect Kathy Hochul (NY-26)

Posted by rsnyder on May 26, 2011 Comments Off

The Young Democrats of America (YDA) congratulate Congresswoman-Elect Kathy Hochul on her victory in yesterday’s special election in New York.  Congresswoman-Elect Hochul not only ran an impressive campaign, but she spoke to the people of her district with a clarity of conviction that resonated with voters across the political spectrum.

“The voters in New York have sent a strong signal that the misplaced values of John Boehner, Paul Ryan and the new Republican House majority are being strongly rejected by the American people,“ said YDA President Rod Snyder. “Congresswoman-Elect Hochul will be a fierce advocate for all of her constituents, fighting to preserve our commitments to education, job creation, and health care for young and old alike.”

YDA National Committeewoman Stephanie Hausner of New York added, “”I am so proud of all the work the Young Democrats and our partner organizations did to lead Congresswoman-elect Kathy Hochul to an incredible win yesterday, putting another New York woman in the House of Representatives and giving the residents of the 26th district a passionate voice in Congress. Hochul’s win is not just one for NY-26, but also is a win for young people and seniors, as we stand together showing Republican leadership that you cannot take away essential programs like Medicare.”

“The victory in NY-26 means a lot to not only our organization but our state and nation alike”, said New York State Young Democrats President Kevin Lawrie.  “Kathy understands what matters to real people, and clearly the attack on our Medicare programs by the House GOP was unacceptable to western New Yorkers.  Our chapters from Manhattan to Erie worked together to ensure that Kathy Hochul was elected to the United States Congress, and as a resident of this region I’m excited to have a new voice fighting for us in Washington.”

Over the next 18 months, the Young Democrats of America will join with allied organizations to underscore the real threat that the Republican agenda poses to Americans of all ages.  We will stand united across generations to ensure that Medicare continues to remain the earned safety-net that it was intended to be.