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People For in Action
May 14, 2018 2:51 pm | By Jen HerrickData Collection is Critical to Fighting Racial Injustice in Special Education
People For the American Way and PFAW's African American Ministers In Action wrote to the Department of Education last December to support collecting data on racial and ethnic disparities in the identification, placement, and discipline of special education students. PFAW…
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News and Analysis
May 11, 2018 10:34 am | By Christin “Cici” Battle, Drew Courtney, Miranda BlueThe Progressive Happy Hour: Far-Right Candidates to Watch in 2018
This week disgraced coal baron Don Blankenship received over 27,000 votes in the West Virginia Republican Senate primary, even after being convicted for his role in an explosion that killed 29 coal miners and running a flagrantly racist campaign during…
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News and Analysis
May 10, 2018 10:38 am | ByConfirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears: Trump Circuit Judge Throws Out Claim of Unfair Arbitration Despite Dissent by Reagan Appointee
“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. Trump Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett recently wrote an opinion that dismissed a case against an arbitration board…
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State and Local Update
May 9, 2018 2:44 pm | ByRight Wing Watch Report: Far-Right Candidates in the 2018 Elections
On April 30, Right Wing Watch released a report on 12 extreme and fringe candidates that are exercising influence in the 2018 elections by attempting to pull their races to the far right. Find highlights here on 12 of the…
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People For in Action
May 9, 2018 1:29 pm | By Jen HerrickPFAW and AAMIA to Congress: Criminal Justice Reform Requires More Than the “FIRST STEP Act”
People For the American Way and PFAW's African American Ministers In Action believe that only with a comprehensive approach to criminal justice reform can we hope to increase safety, reduce costs and crime rates, and make progress toward racial justice.…
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People For in Action
May 9, 2018 10:56 am | By Jen HerrickPFAW Joins LGBTQ Equality Advocates in Opposing Judicial Nominee Ryan Bounds
People For the American Way is strongly opposed to Ryan Bounds' nomination to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In addition to PFAW's own letter of opposition, PFAW is among the LGBTQ and allied…
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People For in Action
May 8, 2018 11:22 am | By Marge BakerA Hearing for Judicial Nominee Ryan Bounds Is the Wrong Thing to Do
On September 7, President Trump nominated Ryan Bounds to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold Bounds' hearing on May 9. People For the American Way wrote…
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News and Analysis
May 8, 2018 10:34 am | By Elliot MincbergConfirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears: Trump Circuit Judge Casts Deciding Vote to Prevent Age Discrimination Case From Going to a Jury
“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. Trump Sixth Circuit Judge John K. Bush recently cast the deciding vote that upheld the dismissal of a claim…
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People For in Action
May 7, 2018 9:55 am | By Marge BakerJudicial Nominee Kurt Engelhardt Would Disserve Justice and the Rule of Law
On October 5, President Trump nominated Kurt Engelhardt to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Senate Judiciary Committee held Engelhardt's hearing on January 10 and reported him to the full Senate on February…
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News and Analysis
May 4, 2018 2:02 pm | By Christin “Cici” Battle, Drew CourtneyThe Progressive Happy Hour: Fighting for Affordable Housing in the Trump Era
With the lack of affordable housing already at a crisis point in cities and towns across the country, last week HUD Secretary Ben Carson floated a plan that would sharply increase what the lowest-income households have to pay in rent.…
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People For in Action
May 3, 2018 2:46 pm | By Jen HerrickHouse Farm Bill Negatively Impacts LGBTQ Americans
There's a lot at stake as Congress takes up the so-called farm bill. It starts with farmers and the agriculture industry, but it reaches a broad range of programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that come under Department…
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People For in Action
May 3, 2018 10:31 am | By Leslie Watson MalachiFaith Leaders to Kansas Legislators: Do Not Allow Child Welfare Agencies to Discriminate
As this year's session draws to a close, Kansas legislators are considering an update to the state's child welfare laws with a Senate amendment that sanctions discrimination in foster care and adoption. People For the American Way's African American Ministers…
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State and Local Update
May 1, 2018 2:36 pm | By Marie Lindberg9 Major Legislative Actions Taken By Young Women in Elected Office
Women are running for office in record numbers, and it's a massive win not just for women but for the entire country. Women serving on our school boards, in our state houses, and on the Hill are already improving the…
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News and Analysis
April 30, 2018 3:11 pm | By Paul GordonAll Current SCOTUS Justices Supported Brown v. Board at Their Nominations Hearings — Why Won’t Some of Trump’s Nominees?
As Donald Trump and his collaborators have violated one democratic norm after another, things once thought impossible have become common. Even our strong national consensus supporting the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision seems to be fraying, as demonstrated…
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News and Analysis
April 27, 2018 3:10 pm | By Bradley WilliamsSenate Rams Through Trump Nominees: A Member Telebriefing, Featuring Special Guest Madihha Ahussain from Muslim Advocates
During a week when the dangers of Mitch McConnell’s rubber-stamp Republican Senate majority were brightly on display, PFAW held a special telebriefing for our members on Trump's now-confirmed secretary of state Mike Pompeo and McConnell's forced vote on one of…
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News and Analysis
April 27, 2018 2:09 pm | By Christin “Cici” Battle, Drew CourtneyThe Progressive Happy Hour: Trump Is Not Above the Law
As Congress advances a bipartisan bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, President Trump is not backing down from his efforts to undermine and interfere with this critical work. In the April 27 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” co-hosts Christin “Cici”…
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News and Analysis
April 26, 2018 12:25 pm | By Leslie Watson MalachiRaising the Rent on the Lowest-Income Families? Not On Our Watch.
In another modern day example of how the rich are robbing the poor, the Washington Post reported Wednesday that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson plans to introduce a proposal to triple what the lowest-income households have to pay…
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People For in Action
April 26, 2018 10:23 am | By Jen HerrickPFAW Supports Civil Rights Principles for Higher Education Act Reauthorization
Since 1965, the Higher Education Act (HEA) has helped students from marginalized communities access educational opportunities. With HEA reauthorization on Congress' to-do list, People For the American Way and nearly 50 organizational allies are calling for the inclusion of critical…
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News and Analysis
April 25, 2018 5:17 pm | By Paul GordonTrump Nominee Andrew Oldham’s Committee Testimony Strains Credulity
President Trump’s latest Fifth Circuit nominee Andrew Oldham had his committee hearing on Wednesday, April 25. He has challenged the constitutional legitimacy of the federal agencies that protect the environment, working people, consumers, hurricane victims, and more. As explained in…
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Federal Update
April 25, 2018 4:47 pm | By Lizet OcampoGOP Sweating After Another Big Election Night for Democrats
Democrats made massive gains in the special election in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District—the seat recently vacated by Radical Right extremist Trent Franks and one of the deepest red congressional districts imaginable. Republicans held the seat but by a mere 5…