In the News

Goodwill Industries International (GII) is pleased to recognize the president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Arkansas (Little Rock), along with seven members of Congress, as the recipients of its annual advocacy awards. The awards identify efforts to advance the nonprofit organization's mission of helping people build careers and gain employment.

The honorees were announced on Wednesday, April 5, during a reception at the U.S. Capitol, as part of Goodwill's annual advocacy event.

Washington – Today, Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01), the Ranking Member of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Social Security, introduced the ‘Social Security 2100 Act', HR 1902. This bill will cut taxes for Social Security recipients, provide a benefit bump for current and future beneficiaries, and keep the system strong for generations to come.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas), co-chairman of the Blue Collar Caucus, told PJM that he is ready to work with Republicans on trade and labor issues but argued that the White House has not followed through on President Trump's campaign rhetoric about the North American Free Trade Agreement and other topics.

Veasey and caucus co-chairman Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) were asked if there are areas of common ground with the Trump administration that they could try to tackle together.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, as well as Congressmen Elijah Cummings and John Delaney (all D-Md.), have joined colleagues in both houses of Congress to reintroduce the Healthy Families Act, legislation that would allow workers to earn paid sick leave to use when they are sick, to care for a loved one, to obtain preventative care, or to address the impacts of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault.

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the Congressional Blue Collar Caucus, co-chaired by Congressmen Marc Veasey (TX-33) and Brendan F. Boyle (PA-13), hosted a robust and productive inaugural listening session featuring national and international labor leaders: Terry O'Sullivan, President of the Laborers' International Union of North America, Bob Martinez, President of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and James Boland, President of the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers.

President Trump's vow to save billions on military purchases is taking hold at the Pentagon, spurring officials to pursue new cost-saving measures in their dealings with defense companies.

One such measure, announced just last week, is a "deep dive" into the F-35 costs at Lockheed Martin and the "20-25 major subsystems that are underneath it," according to the Defense Department's pricing director, Shay Assad.

Baylor scandal sparks effort to end sexual assault statewide
As Baylor University continues grappling with the fallout from a sexual assault scandal, legislators from both parties say what happened at Baylor has sparked a bipartisan effort to address the issue at the state level [..]

WASHINGTON — With Friday's decision to pull the American Health Care Act from a vote, U.S. House Republicans came up short in their singular promise to voters for over seven years: repealing former President Obama's 2010 health care law.

Democrats had soundly opposed the measure U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump put forward, which meant the bill had little room for error within the Republican conference. Opponents fell along both ends of the GOP spectrum: Both moderates and Tea Party members helped sink the bill……