The Senate must act swiftly to confirm this bipartisan slate of nominees to the National Labor Relations Board in order to protect the basic rights and well-being of all American workers. The National Labor Relations Board plays a vital role in protecting workers’ rights to join together in unions and collectively bargain, and helps nonunion workers by protecting their right to speak up about workplace problems without fear of employer retribution. It is critical that the Senate moves forward with these nominations so that this essential government agency can continue its important work to uphold the rights of American workers.

To speak with an expert on this topic, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6285.

###

Washington, D.C. — On Monday, May 20, 2013, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, will join CAP Action’s Neera Tanden for a conversation about how access to quality pre-K, grade schools, colleges, and worker-training programs are the building blocks for a strong middle class both now and in the future.

Creating equal educational opportunities is our best chance at countering growing income inequality and the widening chasm separating our nation’s richest and poorest workers. America’s education system, however, allows too many students to slip through the cracks—or never even make it off the starting blocks. From a shortage of funding for quality early-childhood programs to flaws in programs designed to prepare low-income students for college, there are myriad weaknesses in our education system. Identifying the most urgent of these gaps, as well as the strategies to fix them, must be a central tenet of any viable plan for growing the middle class. New research can help us identify where policymakers can make the biggest impacts.

WHO:
Featured speakers:
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Cecilia Rouse, Dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Moderated by:
Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress; Counselor to the Center for American Progress Action Fund

WHEN:
May 20, 2013
12:30 p.m. ET – 1:30 p.m. ET

WHERE:
Center for American Progress Action Fund
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005

RSVP to attend this event

For more information, contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6295.

###

CAP Senior Fellow Daniel J. Weiss delivers remarks for testimony before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Endnotes and citations are available in the PDF version of this testimony.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on “American Energy Security and Innovation: Grid Reliability Challenges in a Shifting Energy-Resource Landscape.”

Discussing electricity security and innovation while ignoring climate change is like discussing personal health while ignoring cigarette smoking, diet, and exercise. Any examination of this shifting landscape must acknowledge that our electricity-generation systems produce much of the carbon pollution responsible for climate change and that the effects of climate change impair electricity reliability. Since coal-fired power plants emit one-third of the climate pollution in the United States, it is irresponsible to assess changes in our electricity system while ignoring climate pollution and its impacts.

Americans understand that extreme weather is related to man-made climate change that costs our economy billions of dollars annually. A recent poll from Yale University and George Mason University found that many Americans believe that global warming caused recent extreme weather and climatic events to be “more severe.”

Extreme weather events—including storms, floods, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires—threaten electricity reliability. The Congressional Research Service concluded that, “[P]ower delivery systems are most vulnerable to storms and extreme weather events.

These events also threaten American lives and the economy. The most severe and extreme weather events caused 1,107 deaths and $188 billion in damages in 2011 and 2012. A Center for American Progress analysis found that federal natural disaster-relief and recovery spending cost taxpayers $136 billion in the fiscal years from 2011 to 2013, or $400 per household annually. And the National Climate Assessment draft warns us that we can expect more extreme and severe weather, including droughts and rainstorms. The severe 2012 drought, for example, interfered with electricity generation in California, Connecticut, Illinois, and New York by shrinking the amount of cooling water available for power plants. It also disrupted oil and natural gas production.

Superstorm Sandy and other severe storms disrupted electricity transmission and distribution by downing power lines and damaging substations. The National Climate Assessment draft predicts that future climate-change-related events will interfere with electricity transmission.

We urge the subcommittee to support policies to achieve a more secure, reliable electricity system by accomplishing the following three goals:

1. Support policies that slow climate change by reducing carbon pollution from power plants, the largest uncontrolled source of emissions.

Failing that, EPA must at least comply with the Supreme Court by setting such standards  under the Clean Air Act.

Americans favor such pollution reductions. The poll from Yale University and George Mason University found that voters support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant.

And American Electric Power, Xcel, and Entergy all testified before this subcommittee earlier this year in favor of legislation to address climate change.

Finally, there is no evidence that pollution standards for power plants impair reliability. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, and the Congressional Research Service all found that the Mercury Air Toxics Standard has no impact on reliability. A Department of Energy and Congressional Research Service analysis found that the biggest impediment to reliability is weather.

2. Provide financial incentives for innovative energy efficiency and no- or low-carbon electricity technologies, which would reduce reliance on dirty fossil fuels responsible for climate change.

Federal investments in emerging clean energy technologies should continue. Historically, fossil fuels have received vastly more federal support than renewable technologies.

The Nuclear Energy Institute, for example, found that over the past 60 years, 70 percent of federal energy spending went to fossil fuels, while only 10 percent was for renewables.

3. Act to enhance the resilience of the electricity infrastructure to extreme storms, drought, sea level rise, and other impacts of climate change. 

Investments in resiliency to extreme weather save money. The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that “a dollar spent on [pre-disaster] mitigation saves society an average of $4” in lower damages.

Yet even as extreme weather increases, the federal government is investing less in community resilience.

Rep. Lois Capps and 39 of her colleagues urged the federal government to undertake a plan that:

• Identifies federal programs that already provide funding for resilience efforts
• Estimates the financial support necessary to helps communities prepare for the anticipated impacts of increased climate-related extreme weather
• Creates a dependable revenue stream to provide additional resources for local pre-disaster mitigation planning

In addition, the Congressional Research Service recommends more investments in smart-grid and transmission repairs to improve reliability.

The growing harm from climate change necessitates prompt transition from dirty to cleaner electricity generation. This is underway here and overseas. Iowa, for example, generates 20 percent of its electricity from wind. And six years after a devastating tornado, Greensburg, Kansas, is “100 percent renewable energy, 100 percent of the time.”

Looking abroad, Portugal produced 70 percent of energy with renewables in the first quarter of 2013. And Germany generated 26 percent of its electricity from renewable sources in the first half of 2012.

Congress must adopt policies that speed this transition across the nation, while helping our electricity system become more resilient to damages from climate-related storms, floods, droughts, and other extreme weather.

Daniel J. Weiss is a Senior Fellow and the Director of Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Thanks to Mari Hernandez, Research Associate, and Jackie Weidman, Special Assistant, on the Energy Policy team of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

The right to vote is one of America’s most cherished and foundational rights. Unfortunately, the ability of Americans to participate meaningfully and fully in our elections is under attack. Following last year’s election, which highlighted significant problems in voter access to polls and attacks on voting rights in communities across the country, and on the heels of this spring’s Supreme Court case, Shelby County v. Holder and the establishment of the President’s commission on voting, many efforts are under way to improve voting access in America today at the state and federal levels.

WHO

Introduction:
Winnie Stachelberg, EVP External Affairs, Center for American Progress Action Fund

Keynote remarks:
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Panel Discussion:
Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, Executive Director, Common Cause Maryland
Amanda Brown, National Political Director, Rock the Vote
Henry Kraemer, Program Director, The Bus Federation
Eric Marshall, Manager of Legal Mobilization, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Moderator:
Andrew Blotky, Director, Legal Progress, Center for American Progress Action Fund

WHEN

April 24, 2013
9:30am ET – 11:00am ET
A light breakfast will be served at 9:00AM

WHERE

Center for American Progress Action Fund
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

RSVP

RSVP for this event →

For more information, please contact Madeline Meth at mmeth@americanprogressaction.org.

###

Washington, D.C. — In response to the Senate’s irresponsible vote to block common-sense gun policy reforms, gun-violence-prevention advocates today announced the next phase of the #NoMoreNames campaign, a public demonstration designed to draw attention to the appalling number of men, women, and children killed every day by a gun.

The #NoMoreNames campaign originated last week, when families of victims, survivors of gun violence, and advocates gathered at the steps of the U.S. Capitol to continuously read the names of the more than 3,300 individuals killed by a gun since the tragedy in Newtown last December. The public demonstration was intended to remember those who tragically lost their lives and urge Congress to approve common-sense measures that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals.

The vigil took place around the clock with advocates reading names outside the Capitol through the night, often in the rain. It took more than 12 hours to read through the entire list of names once. Over the course of 139 hours, the list of names was read more than 11 times, equaling 36,976 names read aloud—the equivalent of roughly the number of people killed by guns in 1 year, 2 months and 25 days. The list of names was read by families of victims, survivors of gun violence, members of Congress, mayors from around the country, and advocates from a variety of organizations supporting gun policy reform. In all, more than 250 people read names. In the nine days since beginning the vigil, approximately another 720 Americans have died by guns.

The advocates behind the #NoMoreNames vigil will suspend name reading outside the U.S. Capitol today at 10:30 a.m.  The campaign will resume on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2013.

When the reading of the names outside the U.S. Capitol concludes today at 10:30 a.m., the final reader will be Christian Heyne, who lost his parents to gun violence and began the vigil last Wednesday. Others readers this week included: Jillian Soto, whose sister Vicki Soto died shielding her students at Sandy Hook Elementary School; Emily Nottingham, the mother of former Rep. Gabby Giffords’ (D-AZ) staffer Gabe Zimmerman who was shot and killed in Tucson, Arizona during the attack on Rep. Giffords’s life; Steve Barton, a survivor of the Aurora, Colorado, shooting; and Lori Haas, whose daughter survived the Virginia Tech shooting; Pat Maisch, who disarmed the shooter in Tucson; Police Chief Jim Johnson of Baltimore County, Maryland; and various members of Congress, including Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), who represents Newtown.

The #NoMoreNames campaign is organized by advocates for stronger gun laws from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Americans for Responsible Solutions, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Coalition To Stop Gun Violence, chapters of the Million Mom March, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Mom’s Rising, Newtown Action Alliance, Organizing for Action, the PICO National Network, Project to End Gun Violence, Protest Easy Guns, Sojourners, and the Women’s Donor Network.

Campaign resources:

Website: www.NoMoreNames.org

Twitter: #NoMoreNames and @NoMoreNames

 For more information, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6285.

 ###

 

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The right to vote is one of America’s most cherished and foundational rights. Unfortunately, the ability of Americans to participate meaningfully and fully in our elections is under attack. Following last year’s election, which highlighted significant problems in voter access to polls and attacks on voting rights in communities across the country, and on the heels of this spring’s Supreme Court case, Shelby County v. Holder and the establishment of the President’s commission on voting, many efforts are under way to improve voting access in America today at the state and federal levels.

Please join the Center for American Progress Action Fund for a special presentation highlighting several of these reform efforts meant to improve voter access, voting rights and election administration.

Over the course of the past half-century, the American family has undergone cataclysmic change, due chiefly to the movement of women from the home to the paid workforce. And yet our society consistently fails to adapt to the heightened demands placed upon its families. Despite robust public support for work-family policies and legislative action in some states and cities, progress on national family policy has been remarkably limited.

Following the keynote address, Judith Warner, author of the forthcoming Center for American Progress report, “Lessons Learned: Reflections on Four Decades of Fighting for Families,” will moderate a discussion on how changing public policy to support America’s families is viable, doable, and already beginning to happen.

Introductory remarks:
Neera Tanden, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress, Counselor to the Center for American Progress Action Fund

Keynote speaker:
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)

Featured panelists:
Netsy Firestein, Executive Director, Labor Project for Working Families
Bethany Robertson, President, American Parents Associations
Kimberly Morgan, Associate Professor of Political Science, George Washington University
Jocelyn Frye, former Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; Director of Policy and Special Projects for the First Lady

Moderated by:
Judith Warner, Senior Fellow at American Progress

WHEN:

Tuesday, April 23, 2013
1:00 p.m. ET – 2:30 p.m. ET

WHERE:

Center for American Progress Action Fund
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005
A live stream of the event will be available here.

RSVP

RSVP for this event →

For more information, please contact Madeline Meth at mmeth@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6277.

 ###

The historic immigration-reform legislation introduced today represents a big step forward for our country. The proposed Senate bill is a watershed moment, with both parties coming together to craft a thoughtful, pragmatic solution to a big challenge that will directly impact and improve the path our nation is on for decades to come. The legislation announced today gives the 11 million undocumented immigrants in America a clear shot at the American Dream and substantially revamps our legal-immigration system. The proposed path to citizenship, while long, is a major improvement and will be economically beneficial, adding an average of 121,000 jobs annually and a cumulative $832 billion to our gross domestic product in the first decade after the bill’s enactment. The bill is not perfect, but it is significant progress. I am hopeful that Congress will act decisively on the bill and ultimately reflect the will of the majority of Americans by reforming our immigration laws.

Related resources:

• “The Economic Effects of Granting Legal Status and Citizenship to Undocumented Immigrants” (CAP)
• “Infographic: How Legalization and Citizenship Helps the Economy” (CAP)

To speak with a CAPAF expert on this topic, contact Crystal Patterson at cpatterson@americanprogressaction.org or 202.478.6350.

Families and friends of those killed and injured six years ago at Virginia Tech stood this morning outside the U.S. Capitol with families of the victims and survivors of the Tucson, Aurora, and Newtown massacres at the #NoMoreNames vigil to remember those tragically murdered and to demand congressional action on gun legislation. At 9:38 a.m. ET, the exact moment the shooting began, a moment of silence took place to honor the lives lost.

Among the family members and victims in attendance were Lori Haas, whose daughter Emily was shot at Virginia Tech; Peter Read, father of Mary Karen Read, who was shot and killed at Virginia Tech; Colin Goddard, who was shot multiple times at Virginia Tech; and Omar Samaha, brother of Reema Samaha, who was shot and killed at Virginia Tech.

“As a former law enforcement officer, I have seen first-hand the devastation that gun violence causes in our communities,” said Col. W. Gerald Massengill, a retired Virginia State Police superintendent and head of the eight-person Virginia Tech Review Panel that investigated the 2007 shooting. “After investigating Virginia Tech, one of our panel’s key recommendations was for the expansion of the background check system to cover every gun sales.  The legislation offered by Senators Manchin and Toomey takes a big step in that direction. It will heighten and augment the present background  check requirements, which since their inception in the early 1990′s have denied nearly two million gun purchases to felons, mentally ill and other persons  ineligible to buy and possess a firearm under present laws. Such a measure is a commonsense tool directed solely at public safety and allows law enforcement to do a better job keeping our nation’s families and communities safe.”

As the families of those affected by gun violence stood together in Washington, D.C., events on 10 campuses in 8 states today are providing students with the opportunity to participate in youth-driven discussions about the need for gun-violence prevention. The events are organized by Campus Progress, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and are being held in Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Louisiana, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia.

According to a new public-opinion survey released today, young Americans share the views of all Americans in supporting tougher legislation to reduce gun violence. The new survey also reveals young voters’ particular perspective on gun culture, classrooms, and college campuses. Commissioned by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Campus Progress Action, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, key findings from the survey reveal:

• More than 9 in 10 young Americans support criminal background checks. Young voters join the vast majority of Americans who support criminal background checks for anyone who wants to buy a firearm. Ninety-two percent of voters under 30 and 86 percent of voters 30 and over support this proposal.
• Millennials oppose guns on college campuses and in classrooms. By a 64 percent to 31 percent margin, younger voters do not think that teachers in public school classrooms should be allowed to carry firearms—58 percent to 36 percent of voters 30 and over agree with this. But they are even more adamant that they don’t want to be on college campuses where students are carrying firearms. Just 19 percent of voters under 30 said they would feel safer on a college campus where students were allowed to carry firearms. An overwhelming 75 percent said that it would make them feel less safe, and voters 30 and over share this attitude.
• Younger voters are more likely to see gun culture as out of control. Seventy percent of registered voters under the age of 30 agree with the statement that “After the mass killings at colleges, high schools, movie theaters, and now elementary schools, the gun culture in our society has gotten out of control.” Among voters 30 and above, 59 percent agreed.
• Younger Americans feel safer in communities with fewer guns. A majority of young Americans—52 percent—say that they feel safer in communities with fewer guns than they do in communities with more guns. Just 32 percent say more guns make them feel safer. Older Americans also feel safer around fewer guns, but by a more narrow margin of 46 percent to 38 percent.
• Younger voters trust police chiefs, ER docs, and also President Obama. Voters under the age of 30 see police chiefs and emergency-room doctors as the most trustworthy messengers on the issue of gun violence. Eighty-three percent say they trust ER doctors either ‘a lot’ or ‘somewhat,’ and 84 percent say the same thing about police chiefs. Mayors are also a trusted source for young voters—67 percent—as is President Obama. Overall, 56 percent of Americans say they trust the President on this issue, but that number rises to 66 percent with voters under 30 years old.

Read a memo outlining key findings from the public-opinion survey.
Read the top-lines from the public-opinion survey.

To learn more about these actions, contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6284.

*****

Background information on the #NoMoreNames vigil:

The #NoMoreNames campaign originated last Wednesday, April 10, when families of victims and survivors of gun violence gathered to read the names of the men, women, and children who have been killed by guns since the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, last December. In total, 10,076 names were read continuously for 32 hours and 40 minutes. The name reading resumed on Monday, April 15, when the Senate returned from recess and will continue around the clock in the weeks to come until a vote on gun legislation.

The continuous name reading will pause Tuesday during the moment of silence and then resumed and continue until the Senate votes on comprehensive gun-violence prevention. Tuesday’s #NoMoreNames readings are focusing on the tragic number of young people who fall victim to gun violence every year by reading only the names of individuals under the age of 30 who have been shot and killed since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The around-the-clock vigil is taking place outside the U.S. Capitol at the House Triangle. Visit www.NoMoreNames or follow #NoMoreNames on Twitter to learn more.

For more information, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6285.

###

Follow on Twitter: #NoMoreNames

Washington, D.C. — Families and friends of those killed and injured six years ago at Virginia Tech will stand with families of the victims and survivors of the Tucson, Aurora, and Newtown massacres on Tuesday at the #NoMoreNames vigil outside the U.S. Capitol Building to remember those tragically murdered and demand congressional action on gun legislation. At 9:38 a.m. ET, the exact moment the shooting began, a moment of silence will take place to honor the lives lost, followed by remarks memorializing those killed and a call on Congress to take immediate action.

Speakers tomorrow include Lori Haas, whose daughter Emily was shot at Virginia Tech; Peter Read, father of Mary Karen Read, who was shot and killed at Virginia Tech; Colin Goddard, who was shot multiple times at Virginia Tech; and Omar Samaha, brother of Reema Samaha, who was shot and killed at Virginia Tech.

The #NoMoreNames campaign originated last Wednesday, April 10, when families of victims and survivors of gun violence gathered to read the names of the men, women, and children who have been killed by guns since the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, last December. In total, 10,076 names were read continuously for 32 hours and 40 minutes. The name reading resumed on Monday, April 15, when the Senate returned from recess and will continue around the clock in the weeks to come until a vote on gun legislation.

The continuous name reading will pause Tuesday during the moment of silence and then will continue until the Senate votes on comprehensive gun-violence prevention. Tuesday’s #NoMoreNames reading will focus on the tragic number of young people who fall victim to gun violence every year by reading only the names of individuals under the age of 30 who have been shot and killed since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The Virginia Tech moment of silence at the #NoMoreNames vigil is being organized by gun-violence-prevention advocates from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Coalition To Stop Gun Violence, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Other organizations contributing to the #NoMoreNameseffort include Americans for Responsible Solutions, chapters of the Million Mom March, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Newtown Action Alliance, Organizing for Action, the PICO National Network, Project to End Gun Violence, Protest Easy Guns, and Sojourners

WHO:

Families and friends of those killed and injured six years ago at Virginia Tech will stand with families of victims and survivors from the Tucson, Aurora, and Newtown massacres and other gun-violence-prevention advocates, including:

• Lily Habtu, shot two times and survived in the Virginia Tech shooting
• Lori Haas, mother of Emily Haas, who was shot in the Virginia Tech shooting and survived
• Peter Read, father of Mary Karen Read, who was shot and killed in the Virginia Tech shooting
• Colin Goddard, shot four times in the Virginia Tech shooting and survived
• Andy Goddard, father of Colin Goddard
• Omar Samaha, brother of Reema Samaha, who was shot and killed in the Virginia Tech shooting
• Carlee Soto, Sister of Victoria Soto, who hid her students and then was shot and killed confronting the gunman in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown
• Erica Lafferty, Daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School who was shot and killed trying to disarm the gunman
• Patricia Maisch, witness to the Tucson shooting, who physically restrained the shooter and prevented him from reloading his high-capacity magazine clip as law enforcement arrived
• Roxanna Green, Mother of Christina-Taylor Green, who was shot and killed at only 9 years old in the Tucson shooting
• Pam Simon, shot two times in the Tucson shooting and survived
• Sallie and Bill Badger, retired U.S. Army Colonel who physically restrained the shooter and was shot one time in the Tucson shooting and survived
• Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, parents of Jessica Ghawi, who was shot and killed in the Aurora shooting
• Stephen Barton, shot with 25 shotgun pellets in the Aurora shooting and survived

WHAT:

A vigil remembering the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre, the 3,300 lives lost to gun violence since the Newtown shooting, and calling on Congress to take action.

WHEN:

Tuesday, April 16, 2013
9:30 a.m. ET
The #NoMoreNames vigil will continue around the clock until the Senate passes gun-policy reform.

WHERE:

Outside the U.S. Capitol Building on the House of Representatives side behind the House Triangle.

Campaign resources:

• Website: www.NoMoreNames.org
• Twitter: #NoMoreNames

For more information, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6285.

###

Follow on Twitter: #NoMoreNames

Washington, D.C. — In an effort to demand congressional action on gun legislation, families of victims and survivors of gun violence, as well as gun-violence prevention advocates, will gather outside the U.S. Capitol building today at noon to resume reading the names of the more than 3,300 men, women, and children who have been killed by guns since the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, last December. Entitled the #NoMoreNames campaign, the round-the-clock public demonstration is intended to remember those who have tragically lost their lives by urging Congress to approve common-sense gun-violence prevention measures.

Originating under the name Filibuster the Filibuster, the #NoMoreNames campaign began last week on Wednesday, April 10, when families of gun-violence victims began continuously reading names of those killed as Republican senators threatened to not allow debate or a vote on background checks. It took more than 12 hours to read the names of the more than 3,300 individuals who have been killed by guns since the Newtown shooting. After 12 hours, the demonstration continued and advocates began reading the names again. In total, 10,076 names were read continuously for 32 hours and 40 minutes.  After the first day of action by advocates, the Senate voted 68 to 31 to allow debate on legislation to address gun violence to proceed. Reading paused when the Senate went out of session late Thursday.

When the reading of the names resumes today at noon, the first reader will be Eddie Weingart, who as a 2-year saw his mother shot and killed.  Others readers have included Jillian Soto, whose sister Vicki Soto died shielding her students at Sandy Hook Elementary School; Emily Nottingham, the mother of former Rep. Gabby Giffords’ (D-AZ) staffer Gabe Zimmerman who was shot and killed in Tucson, Arizona, in the attack on Rep. Giffords life; Steve Barton, survivor of the Aurora, Colorado shooting; and Lori Haas, whose daughter survived the Virginia Tech shooting; Chief Jim Johnson, police chief of Baltimore County, Maryland; and Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), who represents Newtown.

The #NoMoreNames campaign is being organized by gun-violence-prevention advocates from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Americans for Responsible Solutions, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Coalition To Stop Gun Violence, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, chapters of the Million Mom March, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Newtown Action Alliance, Organizing for Action, the PICO National Network, Project to End Gun Violence, Protest Easy Guns, and Sojourners.

WHAT:

A round-the-clock vigil commemorating the 3,300 lives lost to gun violence since Newtown and calling on Congress to take action.

WHEN:

Monday, April 15, 2013, commencing at 12:00 p.m.
Name reading will continue until the Senate passes gun policy reform.

WHERE:

Outside the U.S. Capitol Building at the House Triangle

Campaign resources:

• Website: www.NoMoreNames.org
• Twitter: #NoMoreNames

For more information, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6285.

###

Washington, D.C.— In an effort to demand congressional action on gun legislation, families of victims and survivors of gun violence gathered at 1:00 p.m. yesterday, April 10, 2013, to begin reading the names of the more than 3,300 men, women, and children who have been killed by guns since the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, last December. They continued to read the names overnight and will persist until the Senate begins recess on Friday.

The action began as a response to Republican senators who were threatening to not even allow debate or a vote on background checks, despite the fact that over 90 percent of Americans support a universal-background-check measure.  After the first 22 hours of action by advocates, the Senate voted 68 to 31 to allow debate on legislation to address gun violence to proceed.

“How many more brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, teachers and students, and friends and neighbors will our nation’s leaders allow to be senselessly murdered before taking action?” said Arkadi Gerney, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and one of the organizers behind the event. “Enacting common-sense measures to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals is not a Democratic priority or a Republican priority. It’s an American priority. And Americans cannot afford to wait another day. The time to demand action is now.  And, today’s Senate vote confirms that the American voices who demand action now have a chance to be heard.”

Thirty-five individuals, most of whom were victims or family members of victims, took turns reading the names of those killed throughout the night. Among the readers were Jillian Soto, whose sister Vicki Soto died shielding her students at Sandy Hook Elementary School; Emily Nottingham, the mother of former Rep. Gabby Giffords’ (D-AZ) staffer Gabe Zimmerman who was shot and killed in Tucson, Arizona, in the attack on Rep. Giffords life; Steve Barton, survivor of the Aurora, Colorado shooting; and Lori Haas, whose daughter survived the Virginia Tech shooting. Chief Jim Johnson, police chief of Baltimore County, Maryland, and Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), who represents Newtown, also participated in the reading of names.

It took over 12 hours to read the names of the more than 3,300 individuals who have been killed by guns since the Newtown shooting. After 12 hours the family members of victims and survivors continued their demonstration and began reading the names again. It would take 109 hours—or four and a half days—of continuous reading to read the names of each of the 30,000 Americans killed by guns in one year.

The demonstration was organized by gun-violence-prevention advocates from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Americans for Responsible Solutions, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Coalition To Stop Gun Violence, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, chapters of Million Mom March, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Newtown Action Alliance, Project to End Gun Violence, and Protest Easy Guns.

For more information, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org.

Sojourners and PICO National Network have organized clergy to continue the vigil—and continue reading the names—today in a field of more than 3,300 grave makers, including crosses, stars of David, and other religious symbols, on the National Mall.

Event details:

WHAT:

24-hour vigil commemorating the 3,300 lives lost to gun violence since Newtown and repeating the call on Congress to act

WHO:

Rev. Matt Crebbin, Senior Pastor, Newtown Congregational Church
Rabbi Shaul Praver, Congregation Adath Israel, Newtown, CT
Rev. Michael McBride, Director, Lifelines to Healing, PICO National Network
Rev. Jim Wallis, President and CEO, Sojourners
Dr. Rajwant Singh, Founder and Chairman, Sikh Council on Religion & Education
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Bishop Noel Jones, City of Refuge Church, Los Angeles

WHERE:

The National Mall
Between 13th and 14th Street NW

WHEN:

Vigil begins at 11:30am

For more information about the vigil, please contact Shannon Craig Straw at shannon@rabinowitz-dorf.com.

###

“When you carry a gun in a war zone as I did, you come to understand the awesome responsibility and risk that comes with owning a firearm,” said former Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund and a veteran of the first Iraq War. “I cherish the right to bear arms here at home, but I also understand that with this right comes responsibility—especially the responsibility of comprehensive background checks so that we can keep guns out of the hands of criminals, domestic abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill.”

“On the issue of gun violence, there is no daylight between what veterans believe and what the American public believes—specifically, that this is a crisis, and something needs to be done,” said Jon Soltz, Iraq War veteran and chairman of VoteVets.org. “The veterans we polled tend to identify as Republican and aren’t predisposed to disliking the NRA, and yet, their level of support for the major anti-gun-violence measures being proposed is extremely high. We’ve seen what assault weapons can do, up close and firsthand. Many of us even own weapons. And yet we recognize that reasonable measures to combat gun violence can be consistent both with the Second Amendment and protecting American lives.”

Key findings from the poll include:

• 85 percent of veterans believe it is important for national leaders in Washington, D.C., to address the issue of gun violence; 39 percent say it’s extremely important, 24 percent say it’s very important, and 22 percent say it’s somewhat important.
• The vast majority of veterans—85 percent—agree that, “We can protect responsible gun owners’ Second Amendment rights while still making it more difficult for criminals and other dangerous people to obtain guns.” This includes 43 percent who strongly agree.
• In addition, while veterans’ opinions of the National Rifle Association are somewhat split, there are more veterans with a favorable than an unfavorable view —43 percent favorable to 36 percent unfavorable.

Two of the four proposed changes to the country’s gun laws that are being considered on Capitol Hill receive near unanimous support and a high level of intensity among veteran voters.

• More than 9 in 10 veterans—91 percent—support requiring a criminal background check of every person who wants to buy a firearm, including 74 percent who strongly support it.
• Nearly all veterans—99 percent—support increasing criminal penalties for people convicted of illegally trafficking guns to criminals, including 91 percent who strongly support it.

The other proposed changes to the country’s gun laws are also supported by a strong majority of veteran voters.

• More than 6 in 10 veterans—61 percent—support banning high-capacity ammunition magazines, including 45 percent who strongly support it.
• Nearly 6 in 10 veterans—58 percent—support banning assault-style weapons, including 40 percent who strongly support it.

Today at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), former Rep. Murphy, and Soltz stood with fellow veterans from across the country to discuss the new survey and to call on Congress to do more to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals.

“As today’s study shows, America’s heroes who have carried guns in defense of our nation overwhelmingly agree that it’s time for Congress to act to reduce gun violence; I’m one of them,” said Rep. Thompson. “As a Vietnam veteran, hunter, and gun owner, I know that we can keep guns from criminals and the dangerously mentally ill, and respect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans. The best way to do this is by expanding background checks. Background checks are the first line of defense against guns getting in the hands of those we all agree shouldn’t have them.”

Read “Survey Results Show Strong Veterans Support for Proposed Gun Law Changes.”

Related resources:

• “What the Public Really Thinks About Guns” (CAP)
• “America Under the Gun: A 50-State Analysis of Gun Violence and Its Link to Weak State Gun Laws” (CAP)

To speak with experts on this issue, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6285.

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A presentation will follow the keynote address and unveil groundbreaking research from Name It. Change It—a project of She Should Run and the Women’s Media Center.  The research finds that all sexism damages a female candidate’s standing with voters, whether it’s sexism from heightened scrutiny of her appearance, sexism masked as a compliment, or sexism that uses gendered language to attack the candidate.  Furthermore, this damage affects women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Name It. Change It.’s research clearly shows, however, that when female candidates and third-party validators openly respond to sexist attacks, they can repair the damage done to their campaigns and can even gather more support than they had before.

A panel of prominent women leaders of color will explain the research’s massive ramifications for all women candidates and offer a personal response to the report’s findings.

WHO:

Opening remarks:
Tara McGuinness, Executive Director, Center for American Progress Action Fund

Keynote speaker:
Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-OH)

Research presentation:
Sam Bennett, CEO and President, She Should Run
Julie Burton, CEO, Women’s Media Center

Featured panelists:
Eureka Gilkey, Senior Advisor and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Presidential Inaugural Committee; former White House Liaison at HUD; former National Deputy Political Director, Obama for America
Maria Teresa Kumar, President and CEO, Voto Latino, MSNBC Contributor
Mee Moua, President and Executive Director, Asian American Justice Center; former MN State Senator
Ana Navarro, CNN Contributor; former Chair, Sen. John McCain’s Hispanic Advisory Council

Moderated by:
Aisha Moodie-Mills, Advisor, LGBT Policy & Racial Justice, Center for American Progress Action Fund

WHEN:

Tuesday, April 16, 2013
10:00 a.m. ET – 11:30 a.m. ET
Coffee will be served at 9:30 a.m.

WHERE:

Center for American Progress Action Fund
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005

RSVP:

RSVP for this event →

For more information, please contact Madeline Meth mmeth@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6277.

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Veterans who support responsible gun ownership join the vast majority of Americans in recognizing that support for the Second Amendment goes hand in hand with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous individuals. On Thursday veterans from across the country will call on Congress to require a background check on every gun sale.

WHO:

• Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA)
• Former Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA)
• Jon Soltz, Chairman of VoteVets.org
• Mayor Chris Rey (D), Spring Lake, North Carolina
• Mayor Joe Accardi (R), Roselle Park, New Jersey
• John L. Estrada, former Sergeant Major of the Marines Corps

With:

• Mary Deering, military family member
• Hal Donahue, Vietnam War veteran
• Don Fowler, Korean War veteran
• Jonathan Freeman, Army veteran
• Ed Meagher, Vietnam War veteran
• Ron Pierce, Army veteran
• Eryn Sepp, Iraq War veteran
• Terron Sims, Iraq War veteran
• Drew Sloan, veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Stefan Stent, Army veteran
• Paul Sullivan, Army veteran
• Mike Velasquez, Iraq War veteran

WHEN:

Thursday, April 11, 2013
10:00 a.m.

WHERE:

House Triangle
Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C.

RSVP:

Please confirm your attendance by contacting Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6285.

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The “Make It In America” plan draws on the best ideas from both sides of the aisle and seeks to provide American businesses with the tools they need to expand and create well-paying middle-class jobs that won’t be shipped overseas. The plan focuses on boosting domestic manufacturing, which has been a bright spot in our recovery and is critical to maintaining America’s global leadership in innovation.

WHO:

Featured speaker:
Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, (MD)

Introduction by:
Neera Tanden, Counselor, Center for American Progress Action Fund; President and CEO, Center for American Progress

WHEN:

April 9, 2013
11:30am ET – 12:30pm ET

WHERE:

Center for American Progress Action Fund
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC20005

RSVP:

RSVP for this event
For more information, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogressaction.org or 202.741.6285.

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Today more than 265 million Americans—more than 80 percent of the U.S. population—live in a community with a federal courtroom vacancy. That means that there are simply not enough judges on the bench to hear the cases that are piling up. There are eight judicial vacancies in California alone. The third branch of government is not functioning because our nation’s courts, where Americans vindicate their most cherished constitutional rights, do not have a full complement of judges on the bench. At the same time, it’s clear that no matter the issue—whether it’s health care, immigration, the environment, marriage equality, or consumer protection—the judiciary will continue to play an increasingly important role in the lives of all Americans, as well as in the success of the progressive legislative agenda.

WHO:

Dennis Herrera, San Francisco City Attorney
Robert Raben, Former Justice Department official; President of the Committee for a Fair Judiciary
Andrew Blotky, Director of Legal Progress, CAP Action

WHEN:

Thursday, April 11, 2013
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. PST

WHERE:

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
275 Battery Street, 29th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111

RSVP:

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Jonathan Kent at jkent@rabengroup.com.

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At the round table, Johnson will discuss findings from a new Center for American Progress 50-state analysis that identifies the prevalence of gun-related violence in Georgia communities and examines how the state measures up according to 10 key measures of gun violence. The report also ranks each of the 50 states and explores the link between high levels of gun violence and weak state gun laws.

Key findings from the analysis include:

• Georgia experienced a gun murder every 20 hours in the state in 2010.
• Georgia had the fifth-highest rate of women murdered by guns in the 10-year period from 2001 through 2010.

WHO:

• Anne Johnson, Director, Campus Progress Action at the Center for American Progress Action Fund
• Emily Tisch Sussman, Democratic Strategist and Former Executive Director, Young Democrats
• Senator Vincent D. Fort, State Senator Representing Georgia’s 39th District
• Dr. Laurie Wood, Former Narcotics Agent and Professor at Vanderbilt University
• Ronnie Mosley, Co-Founder, iCAN and Student at Morehouse College
• Anita Foster, President, Spelman College Student Government Association
• Kathryn Grant, State Director, Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus–Georgia

WHEN:

Friday, April 5, 2013
3:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Morehouse College
830 Westview Drive, SW
Kilgore Hall – 2nd Floor Seminar Room
Atlanta, GA  30314

RSVP:

Please confirm your attendance by contacting Madeline Meth at 202.741.6277 or mmeth@americanprogressaction.org

From April 3-5 principals from the Center for American Progress Action Fund are participating in events in Tucson, South Bend, Baton Rouge, Reno, Philadelphia, and Atlanta to discuss the report’s findings while standing alongside local leaders, victims of gun violence, law enforcement officials, faith leaders, and students who will talk about why preventing future gun violence is important to their communities.

Read the full report from the Center for American Progress: ”America Under the Gun: A 50-State Analysis of Gun Violence and Its Link to Weak State Gun Laws” by Arkadi Gerney, Chelsea Parsons, and Charles Posner

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