Free Republic

The four-day workweek bill is back, but will it garner enough support from lawmakers this time around? Democratic Congressman Mark Takano of California has reintroduced the 32-Hour Workweek Act. The legislation aims to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and reduce the standard workweek from five days to four days, with no change to employee pay. Rep. Takano says it's a necessary culture shift that would give American workers more time for family, leisure and education. "Workers across the nation are collectively reimagining their relationship to labor — and our laws need to follow suit,” Takano said. “We have...

It is unlikely Pelosi would back down now, although if she did, the US would need to take measures to not look weak, an Asia expert said A US news broadcaster on Thursday cited sources as saying that US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi departed for Asia yesterday, with a “tentative” itinerary for Taiwan. The trip’s official itinerary comprises Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, NBC News said. The report also cited sources as saying that Pelosi’s Taiwan itinerary was only listed as “tentative,” and whether she would visit Taiwan is not clear. The report said that Pelosi has...

A group of House Democrats on Tuesday announced they would move to codify federal protections for transgender people. The proposal, dubbed the “Transgender Bill of Rights,” would codify the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision that protects employees against discrimination for being gay or transgender. The proposal would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly include protections for gender identity and sex characteristics, expand access to gender-affirming care and ban conversion therapy. It would also require the attorney general to designate a liaison dedicated to overseeing enforcement of civil rights for transgender people and invest in...

A proposed bill winding its way through the state Legislature could make California the first state in the nation to reduce its workweek to four days for a large swath of workers. The bill, AB 2932, would change the definition of a workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours for companies with more than 500 employees. A full workday would remain at eight hours, and employers would be required to provide overtime pay for employees working longer than four full days. The bill was authored by Assembly Members Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) and Evan Low (D-San Jose). At the federal...

A U.S. congresswoman on Thursday (Nov. 25) announced on Twitter that she had landed in the "Republic of Taiwan" as she joined a delegation of U.S. lawmakers on a surprise visit to the country. A 17-member, bipartisan delegation of U.S. representatives and congressional staff members, including Mark Takano, Elissa Slotkin, Colin Allred, Sara Jacobs, and Nancy Mace, landed at Taipei Songshan Airport aboard a C-40 Clipper military transport plane on Thursday evening.

Today, U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04) introduced the Wall Street Tax Act, legislation to create a new tax on financial transactions that would generate billions in revenue, while reducing speculative trading and volatility in the market. “High-frequency traders front-run the market and drive up prices for individuals, pension funds and other value investors,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio. “Some days high-frequency traders trade billions of shares that they sometimes hold for only seconds or less. They reap enormous financial benefits for themselves and their privileged elite investors but add no value to our economy. Congress needs to rein in excessive speculative...

Left-wing billionaire Tom Steyer’s Need To Impeach group announced Monday that they are targeting 12 incumbent Democrats because they haven’t come out in support of impeaching President Donald Trump. Need to Impeach is targeting Democrats who have not publicly called for the president’s impeachment or for an inquiry into the matter. Their targets include Democratic politicians who represent prominent leadership and who hold leadership positions on key House committees, lawmakers and representatives from key voting districts. Of the most prominent names are presidential candidate and California Rep. Eric Swalwell; House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina; House Oversight Committee...

A group of 23 liberal House Democrats urged Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday to delay Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress next month. In the letter spearheaded by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the lawmakers argued that Netanyahu was being used as a "political tool" against President Obama. "As members of Congress who support Israel, we share concern that it appears that you are using a foreign leader as a political tool against the president," they wrote. Netanyahu's March 3 address will be just two weeks before the Israeli elections and...

Hundreds of undocumented migrants at a detention centre in Washington state have started a hunger strike, according to supporters, in the run-up to rallies and civil disobedience aimed at forcing through immigration reform. Detainees at the Tacoma facility started refusing food on Wednesday in a planned 75-hour fast, timed to end on Saturday when activists will march on the White House to demand that President Obama break the reform logjam. :snip: Activists from #Not1More, a coalition which uses opposition to deportations to push for wider reform, are hosting small protests in Washington DC in the run-up to Saturday’s march, which...