During his State of the Union address, President Obama unexpectedly called for a hike in the minimum wage to $9.25 an hour, and Congressional Democrats are calling for an even higher hike to $10.10.

The importance of boosting the minimum wage was highlighted earlier this week when the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released a report showing how difficult it is for low-income Americans to get affordable housing.

The report notes that there is no state in the country where a minimum wage worker working 40 hours a week can afford a two-bedroom apartment for their family. In the cheapest state, a worker would have to work approximately 1.4 jobs to afford such an arrangement, and in Hawaii, a worker would have to work 4.4 jobs at the minimum wage.

The report then follows up with this shocking fact:

The one-bedroom housing wage also exceeds the federal minimum wage in each state across the country. In fact, with the exception of a handful of counties in Washington and Oregon (where the state minimum wage is $9.19 and $8.95, respectively), there is no county in the U.S. where even a one-bedroom unit at the FMR is affordable to someone working full-time at the minimum wage.

As we’ve noted previously, one way to force House Republicans to support increasing the minimum wage would be to put increases on state ballots in 2014. This would increase progressive voter turnout and threaten to unseat Republicans who failed to back an increase.

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Why has Wall Street escaped prosecutions?

During a Reddit question and answer session today, top Obama economic adviser Gene Sperling responded to a question from one user about how a “free market economy” can “exist when big actors cheat, break laws, and only get fined. They just consider this a business expense. Should we break up the banks?”

Sperling’s full response is here. He starts by dodging the question about whether we should break up Wall Street banks, instead simply saying that the Dodd-Frank financial reform law “creates new tools to unwind large financial firms without destabilizing our entire economy.”

He then goes on to defend the administration’s record of prosecuting Wall Street banks, saying, “I think we have a strong record.” To justify this statement, he says the administration “has filed 10,000 financial fraud causes against nearly 15,000 defendants ai??i?? including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants.”

Notice that Sperling does not note who it is these defendants were — he fails to mention, for example, that not a single major executive at a Wall Street bank has been prosecuted for their role in the financial crisis. Rather, the prosecutions have been tilted towards loan officers and other low-level fraud. As Lanny Breuer, who was theAi??Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice under Obama, admitted in a recent PBS documentary, “no Wall Street executives” were prosecuted by the administration.

As Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has noted, the real problem is that too big to fail has become “too big for trial.” Watch her remarks at a recent Senate hearing, where she castigated federal regulators for failing to bring criminal cases against Big Banks:

Click here to join Warren in demanding that federal regulators hold Wall Street accountable.

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA)

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) — a freshman congressman who defeated a conservative Democrat in a primary last year — is a signer of the Grayson-Takano letter vowing to vote against any cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits.

While appearing on a local television show this week, Cartwright explained why he supports the letter and how he is worried that the President may agree to cuts to these benefits and how Congress needs to hold him accountable:

CARTWRIGHT: These efforts to cut Social Security, I will fight very, very hard against them. I’ve signed a letter to the president last month saying please do not cut Social Security please do not cut medicare we have people who really really depend on these programs. And you know when he goes to have dinner with the Republican leadership, and lunch with Representative Ryan, you worry, when he talks about giving on entitlements. Well that’s what he’s talking about. Is he going to cut Social Security and Medicare? I will push very hard against those things. And that’s something Congress will hold him on as well.

Watch it (relevant section begins at 4:15):

Cartwright’s concerns are based in recent history. Recall that the President has repeatedly endorsed the so-called “Chained CPI,” which would lead to reductions in Social Security and veterans benefits.

Click here to sign on as a citizen sponsor of the Grayson-Takano letter against Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefit cuts.

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Katrina Shankland is a former PCCC fellow who was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly

Last week, Wisconsin Republicans passed a law that weakens environmental protections and will streamline the construction of what may be the Ai??largest iron ore mine in the world. This was done despite the fact that the mine may poison nearby water streams with arsenic, lead, and mercury. This is particularly a danger to the nearby Native American communities, who have opposed the mine.

But while Republicans fell in line to support this attack on the environment, one freshman Democrat gave a fiery speech against it — standing as an example for all Democratic lawmakers. Rep. Katrina Shankland, a former Progressive Change Campaign Committee fellow, denounced the plan for the mine, warning that “the will of the people, not the mining company is the law of the land.”

Shankland went on to reference the Native testimony about the bill: “At the only mining bill hearing they had this session they testified from a place of truth. The talked about the wild rice beds. They talked about their families. They talked about their water. And you know what they said? They said that supporting this bill would be equivalent to genocide. And I’m saying that today because they said it and you should listen to them. Polluting an entire watershed for profit is contributing to genocide. And history is on their side.”

Watch Shankland’s speech:

Wisconsin Senate Democrats are organizing to stop the extreme Republican agenda in the state. Click here to chip in a few dollars to stand in solidarity with them.

The Congressional Management Foundation just released a study based on questionnaires of 25 Members of Congress. The CMF report has many interesting results, but one of the most alarming is how much time these lawmakers said they spent on political/campaign work — mostly fundraising.

Here’s a chart laying out how they spend almost a fifth of their time on this activity:

For some lawmakers — particularly freshmen from competitive districts — it’s even more. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN) said he was told to spend 30 hours a week fundraising.

Click here to join our Take Back Democracy campaign to help stop the influence of money in our politics.

Five Social Security recipients from Pasadena and surrounding communities brought a letter bearing 1,029 signatures to Chu’s office and asked her to add her own… The letter — known as the Grayson-Takano letter for its authors, Reps. Alan Grayson (D-Fl.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.) — is addressed to President Obama and vows that its signees will not vote for any cuts to the programs, including raising the retirement age or reducing the amount of disbursements.

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA)

In the days after the Sandy Hook shootings, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) stood apart from his party by embracing some sort of tougher background checks for gun purchases and limits on high-capacity gun magazines.

But as Gingrey gears up for a possible Senate run, it appears that he is pandering to special interest groups like the National Rifle Association by backing off of these previous statements. In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Gingrey claims his initial response was solely emotional and he does not stand by his words:

Gingrey said he was ai???thinking out loudai??? at the time, and was wrapped in thoughts about his own grandchildren and the 20 first-graders in Connecticut slain only weeks before, by a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15 with 30-round magazines.

ai???I have come to the conclusion that [limiting clip capacity] clearly would be a mistake ai??i?? that it would not solve the problem,ai??? he said. […] Gingrey endorsed the NRA insistence on tighter reporting by state and local governments on those judged mentally unstable, but said he would oppose mandatory background checks on private sales of firearms ai??i?? the so-called ai???gun showai??? exception.

As Gingrey says, he was thinking about his own grandchildren at the time he endorsed these gun reforms. Now he appears to be thinking about the NRA’s campaign dollars.

Click here to sign on in support of the White Houseai??i??s bold plan to stop gun killings.

Ai??

Money in politics isn’t just about campaign funds, is also involves what happens after a lawmaker leaves office.

In office, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) saved Wall Street banks tens of billions of dollars by writing loopholes in the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law.

Today, the law and lobbying firm Nixon Peabody announced that it will be hiring Brown to assist its “practice on business and governmental affairs as they relate to the financial services industry as well as on commercial real estate matters.”

Nixon Peabody has clients that include Goldman Sachs, which paid it $140,000 in 2012.

Keep in mind that while it would be illegal for Brown to register as a federal lobbyist before his cooling off period ends, he is free to unofficially act as a lobbyist.

While Brown will literally work for Wall Street, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has been aggressively taking on the Big Banks. Last week, at a stunning hearing before federal regulators, she asked why banks that launder money for drug lords are not being put out of business. Watch it:

Click here to join Warren in demanding that federal regulators hold Wall Street accountable.
Click here to join our Take Back Democracy campaign to help stop the influence of money in our politics.

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Ai??

Progressives fell in love with Elizabeth Warren because they saw in her a fighter ai??i?? someone who would break from Washingtonai??i??s longstanding tradition of cozying up to big banks and instead hold them accountable for bad behavior.

She hasnai??i??t disappointed.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal activist group which helped elect Warren, is thrilled with her so far, sending their members videos of her exchanges with regulators. An email last weekend solicits donations to ai???mobilize support for Warrenai??i??s agenda.ai??? ai???Bank regulators need to hold Wall Street accountable and Elizabeth Warren is doing her best to make sure that happens,ai??? said Matt Wall, a PCCC spokesman. ai???We couldnai??i??t be more proud.ai???

You pay your taxes, so why don’t corporations?

The sequester continues to harm important investments in America, with the latest casualty being the National Park Service — which may have to shed employees and deny park visits which would mean losing 267,000 visitors.

But as average Americans feel the pain of $85 billion of annual cuts, corporations continue to rip off the Treasury.

Recall this July 2011 report from the Center for American Progress. Drawing on Internal Revenue Service data, it estimates that corporations underpay their taxes — either through evasion or noncompliance — by $400 to $500 billion every single year. So that means at the very least that corporations are dodging taxes that are equal to four times the amount that the sequester is cutting.

Some in Congress want to replace the sequester with a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.Ai??Click here to sign on as a citizen sponsor of the Grayson-Takano letter against Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefit cuts.

You should follow BoldProgressives on Twitter here.

Colorado’s state flag

Colorado is not waiting for Congress to act on gun reforms. Over the weekend, a spree of gun reform bills advanced through the legislature, winning approval in the Senate:

A ban on guns for individuals guilty of domestic abuse
Universal background checks including for private purchases
A limit on magazine sizes that limits them to 15 rounds
A ban on online concealed carry certification

Click here to sign on in support of the White House’s bold plan to stop gun killings.

Today is International Women’s Day, and governments and civil society around the world are celebrating it with events marking progress towards gender equality and calling for additional action to achieve full equality.

But few people know where the day originally comes from. In 1857, female garment workers in New York City staged mass protests against low wages and poor working conditions. Police attacked the demonstrators, forcing them to disperse, but the event helped spur the creation of the first women’s labor union.

By 1908, this women’s labor movement had expanded, and 15,000 women marched in March of that year for voting rights, better pay, shorter working hours, and an end to child labor. In May of that year, the Socialist Party —which won 900,000 votes four years later — declared that the last Sunday in February would be National Women’s Day. The first National Women’s Day was celebrated in 1909 and soon other countries jumped on board, marking it International Women’s Day.

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Constituents delivering a petitioned signed by 702 people in the district asking Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL) to vote against cuts to benefits.

Yesterday, constituents working with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, CREDO Action, and Democracy for America visited Congressman Patrick Murphy’s (D-FL) office to ask him to sign the Grayson-Takano letter pledging to vote against any cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits. Ai??They presented the office with a petition in favor of the letter signed by 702 constituents. Recall that Murphy recently signed a letterAi??with dozens of House Republicans calling for deficit reduction and which only embraced protecting current beneficiaries’ benefits. As Americablog notes, the letter has the support of more Republicans than Democrats and is essentially “pro-cuts.”

“Those of us who are trying to hold onto our Social Security, our Medicare…my husband and I couldn’t live without Medicare or Social Security,” NormaAi??Riccobene said to Murphy’s district director Michael Kinney. “We paid into Social Security, we paid into Medicare. Don’t tell me you’re going to cut it or tweak it.”

“There’s no doubt Congressman Murphy’s committed to the integrity of those programs,” responded Kinney.

Watch the visit:

Click here to sign on as a citizen sponsor of the Grayson-Takano letter against Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefit cuts.

You should follow BoldProgressives on Twitter here.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) appeared before the Senate Banking Committee again today, and asked federal regulators about the topic of money laundering by Wall Street Banks.

Warren wondered aloud why Big Banks can get away with money laundering through drug lords and freely violate economic sanctions without being shut down, talking about the example of mega-bank HSBC.

WARREN: How many billions of dollars do you have to launder through drug lords, and how many economic sanctions do you have to violate before someone will consider shutting down a financial institution like this?

DAVID COHEN, REGULATOR: We determined the appropriate response [with HSBC] there was a very very significant penalty against the institution […]

WARREN: How many billions of dollars do you have to launder for drug lords before somebody says we’re shutting you down?!

Watch Warren’s grilling of regulators:

Ai??Recall that HSBC moved $881 million in drugAi??traffickingAi??money, and only faced a paltry $1.9 billion fine for it.

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Join PCCC’s Take Back Democracy campaign.

As long as elections are primarily privately financed, we can expect corruption. One solution is to set up a voluntarily public financing system that gives grants to candidates who can collect a certain number of donations and signatures who prove that they are viable.

Yesterday, the Hawaii House by an overwhelming 48-3 vote passedAi??a bill to do just that. Under the terms of their Fair Elections program, these are the thresholds that candidates would have to pass before getting public funding: “House candidates would need 250 signatures from district registered voters, each accompanied by a $5 donation; signatures from 350 voters, each donating $5, would be required for Senate candidates.”

Click here to join our Take Back Democracy campaign to help stop the influence of money in our politics.

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Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) on a conference call Wednesday, reiterated his strong opposition to any proposed cuts in benefits to Social Security, Medicare and Medicare, saying he is happy to let President Obama know that he “won’t use his vote to hurt the needy.”

Grayson, who was joined by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), along with nearly 1,000 media and activists from across the country, has garnered the signatures of 27 members of Congress on a “No Cuts” letter that rejects any cuts in benefits to the social safety nets…

Today’s conference call was organized by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and chaired by its co-founder Adam Green who said that, over 200,000 supporters had already signed the “No Cuts” letter, “a true testament to grass-roots energy around this issue.”

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) has teamed up with Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) to ask their congressional colleagues to sign a letter pledging to vote against any cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits.

Grayson appeared on Take Action News and talked about the letter with host David Shuster and producer Daniel Marans. Marans asked Grayson about the reactions of Americans if benefits were cut, and Grayson replied that Americans would be marching in the streets of Washington, D.C. and state capitols:

MARANS: I think we need to take this eventually to acts of civil disobedience, and getting arrested at the capitol and White House, doing things to stop this at all cost. If it came to that would you support that?

GRAYSON: Listen it will come to that if they actually go through with cuts. If they go through with cuts, you’ll see people pouring into the streets. Pouring into the streets of Washington, D.C. and every other capital, state capital, and major city in the country. This is going to be intolerable for people, this is in fact a matter of life and death in their own lives. And what’s the point? The Social Security Administration has almost $2 trillion in the bank. $2 trillion. That’s a program that’s operated at profit virtually every single year since it started 80 years ago. And under the current law, under current assumptions, under current projections, that’s a system that can pay out every single benefit required under current law for the next 25 years, and minor tweaks would make that forever.

Listen to it:

Click here to sign on as a citizen sponsor of the Grayson-Takano letter against Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefit cuts.

Listen to our national conference call with Alan Grayson …

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA)

Late last week, the House of Representatives finally renewed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), sending it to President Obama for his signature. This was after Republicans failed to pass their own watered down alternative that sought to exclude protections for undocumented women, Native American women, and the LGBT community.

But there was one Republican running for U.S. Senate in 2014 who didn’t supportAi??renewing the VAWA or the right-wing alternative: Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), who’s vying for his party’s nomination for Senate from Georgia. He was just one of 27 House Republicans who refused to vote for either version, and the only Georgian to do so — something that could prove a liability with the electorate, particularly women, whose protections he opposes.

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Gov. Tom Corbett (R-PA)

Pennsylvania’s Republican Governor Tom Corbett has been an ally to Big Business and the rich — Ai??subsidizing private schools, cutting taxes on the rich, and opening up more land for gas drilling.

An investigation published this morning by the Philadelphia Inquirer finds one reason why: Ai??since he ran in 2010, lobbyists and corporations have given over $11,000 in gifts and perks to Corbett and his wife. Here are a few of them:

$2,500 tickets to theAi??Ai??Philadelphia Academy of Music anniversary concert: These tickets came courtesy of the Blank Rome law firm, which represents gas drillers among others.
Expensive flights on private jets:Ai??Frank Schoeneman, chief executive of the Pottsville-based Empire Education Group, flew Corbett on a private jet to an event in Pittsburgh, for a cost of $1,407.
Buying the first lady a pricey gown: The chief executive ofAi??Aegis Security Insurance donated $1,800 for the cost of Mrs. Corbett’s inaugural gown and coat.

Pennsylvania law technically bars donors from giving anything to a public official that would guarantee a quid-pro-quo — meaning that if Corbett were to explicitly guarantee anything in return for these gifts, he’d be breaking the law. But it does not ban gift-giving.

Click here to join our Take Back Democracy campaign to help stop the influence of money in our politics.

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In November, organizers with Occupy Wall Street had an idea: buy up people’s personal debt — like student debt and debt resulting from health care bills — and simply forgive it.

They called their program a “bailout of the people by the people” and named it Rolling Jubilee — based on the Biblical parable of the Jubilee year, where debts would be forgiven.

Since they launched their effort, they have raised $561,587 to abolish $11,236,570 of personal debt. Ai??Check out their website for information on how to get involved.

We have set up a tool that helps you move your money from Big Banks to smaller banks and credit unions. Click here to check it out.

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80 years ago today, Democratic Party president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was inaugurated for the first time. The country was in the midst of its Great Depression, but FDR along with a powerful progressive movement that organized workers and the unemployed rebuilt the nation and virtually eliminated voluntary unemployment.

This all began with FDR’s inaugural address on March 4, 1933, where he laid out an agenda of tackling the excesses of turbo capitalism and the idea that the pursuit of profit should come before the pursuit of happiness.

Roosevelt first began by condemning the philosophy of greed he saw creating the Depression:

The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

He then laid out a progressive agenda of restoring employment, saying that the government must tackle it with the same urgency it would tackle a war with a foreign foe:

Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of …

Congressional Republicans are digging in their heels and claiming we don’t need to raise taxes rates on the rich any further after they went up to Clinton-era levels for families with incomes $450,000 and above.

But the fact is, income tax rates on the richest Americans are still lower than they were under Republican presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and even most of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Here’s where rates were under them:

Dwight Eisenhower: During Ike’s presidency, the top rate was between 91 and 92 percent.

Richard Nixon: In 1969, when Nixon took office, the top rate was 77 percent. It dropped down to 71.75 in 1970 and finally to 70 percent for the rest of Nixon’s presidency.

Ronald Reagan: The top rate was Ai??69.125 percent when Reagan came into office, and he soon cut it to 50 percent, where it stayed through most of his presidency (it was cut again in 1987).

By every measure, taxes on the rich are still historically low, despite the partial restoration of the Clinton tax rates. Yet some right-wing lawmakers continue to demand sharp cuts to the benefits of programs like Social Security and Medicare in order for any kind of increased revenues.

Help us push for a balanced approach that cuts Pentagon waste, asks the rich to pay their fair share, and protects Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits from cuts.

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Everything from public education to child care subsidies and aviation safety could be on the chopping block. But a group of more than 20 Democrats are petitioning Obama in the hopes of ensuring the nation’s most critical social-safety-net programs will not be subject to budget cuts.

“Democrats have built the most popular government programs in American history — including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — by working with Republicans whenever possible and by defeating Republican opposition whenever necessary. The torch has been passed to today’s elected officials, and we must carry it forward boldly,” states the letter, authored by Reps. Alan Grayson (Fla.) and Mark Takano (Calif.).

Earlier this week, progressive champion Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) called out Fox News’s Sean Hannity for his disinformation around the sequester, telling him he was the “worst excuse for a journalist” he had ever seen.

Last night, Hannity responded by smearing Ellison when he wasn’t there to defend himself. He implied that the Congressman held anti-semitic views, and brought up debunked attacks used against Ellison during his 2006 campaign.

But this behavior is nothing new for Hannity himself along with the network he belongs to. Hannity and the network have a history of inciting islamophobia and racial and ethnic animosity. Here are a few examples:

-Ai??Fox Host John Gibson Said We ai???Need More Babiesai??? Because The Majority Of Americans May Be Hispanic In 25 YearsAi??[5/12/06]

-Ai??Fox Host Steve Doocy Claimed Barack Obama Went To A ai???Madrassaai??? And Was Possibly A Muslim ExtremistAi??[1/19/07]

-Ai??Fox News Managing Editor Said Barack Obama Had ai???Fairly Controversialai??? Views About ai???The White Raceai???Ai??[3/28/08]

-Ai??Fox News Host Brian Kilmeade Suggested ai???Special Screeningsai??? For Muslim American Soldiers After The Fort Hood ShootingsAi??[11/7/09]

-Ai??Fox News Host Blamed Desecration Of A Tennessee Mosque On The ai???Stubbornnessai??? Of Muslims Building A Community Center In New York City[8/24/10]

-Ai??Fox News Immediately Hired Disgraced NPR Commentator Juan Williams, Who Was Let Go For Making Insensitive Comments About MuslimsAi??[10/21/10]

-Ai??Fox Host Glenn Beck Said The 3/5 Compromise Was A ai???Way To Take A Step To Abolish Slaveryai???Ai??[1/6/11]

-Ai??Fox Host Sean Hannity Repeatedly Suggested That Middle East Uprisings Are Signs Of ai???World War IIIai???Ai??[2/8/11,Ai??2/10/11,Ai??2/22/11]

-Ai??Fox Host Glenn Beck Claimed That The Pro-Democracy Movement In Egypt Was Evidence Of A Muslim-Marxist Conspiracy To Establish An Islamic CaliphateAi??[2/11/11]

-Ai??Fox News Radio Reporter Todd Starnes Published Tweets About ai???Blacks Riotingai??? At A Burger King And Asking If Muslims ai???Will Stop …

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)

Last week, PCCC memberAi??Patricia Kerekes went to Rep. Carol Shea Porter ‘s (D-NH) office to ask the Congresswoman to sign onto the Grayson-Takano letter promising to vote against any cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits.

Shea-Porter’s staffer,Ai??Carol Perry, took the letter Kerekes gave to her and then assured Perry, “She’s not going to compromise. She’s not going to take any cuts.” Watch it:

Click here to sign on as a citizen sponsor of the Grayson-Takano letter against Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefit cuts.

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