Hillary Clinton Statement on Las Vegas Trump Hotel Labor Law Violations

hillary-logo-jpg-crop-thumbnail-small

After an announcement by the National Labor Relations Board that the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas was violating the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to bargain with the Culinary Workers Union after hotel employees voted to join the union last year, Hillary Clinton issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump likes to brag about his skills as a negotiator—but yesterday, he had to be ordered by the National Labor Relations Board to stop breaking the law, respect his workers’ fundamental rights to organize and bargain collectively, and come to the table. It’s appalling, but it’s not surprising. This is a man who personally signed a contract with a union-busting firm to try to stop UNITE HERE and the Culinary Workers’ Union from organizing in the first place, and engaged in a months-long intimidation campaign to bully his workers against voting to form a union.

I was proud to visit workers on the picket line at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, and even prouder when they overcame Donald Trump’s intimidation campaign and were officially certified as a union earlier this year. I believe that when unions are strong, families are strong—and when families are strong, America is strong. And I will always stand with workers in protecting their rights to organize, bargain collectively, be safe on the job and retire with dignity, and if I am elected President, workers will always have a seat at the table and a champion in the White House.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Politico

The Choice is Clear: Trump is Unfit to be President and Commander-In-Chief

hillary-logo-jpg-crop-thumbnail-small

Americans deserve a president who’s ready on Day One to keep us safe. As a former Secretary of State and senator, Hillary Clinton brings vast experience to the Oval Office, having dealt with the key issues facing Americans around the world for decades. Traveling nearly a million miles as America’s top diplomat, Hillary has handled issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to military readiness, from women’s rights  to climate change, and is ready to lead from day one.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, has proven himself again and again to be temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief.

Beyond his lack of understanding of foreign policy and unwillingness to learn, Donald Trump is a loose cannon with dangerous views on major global issues. Trump would encourage the spread of nuclear weapons around the world, has insulted our allies and praised several authoritarian dictators.  He even encouraged a foreign government to hack Americans, and since then has refused to acknowledge the U.S. Intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government has done just that.

Americans deserve a president who understands the challenging world in which we live, not one who is too erratic and uninformed to have control of nuclear weapons.

Throughout his career, and throughout this campaign, on subject after subject, Trump has proven he is unfit to be commander-in-chief. As we begin the final week of the presidential campaign, here is a look back at Trump’s dangerous record on matters of defense and foreign policy:

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

On nuclear weapons, Donald Trump has displayed a reckless disregard for fact and fails to understand the dangers of nuclear proliferation. Simply put, he doesn’t have the temperament to be trusted with the nuclear codes.

U.S. MILITARY AND VETERANS

Trump has repeatedly insulted our military, our veterans and their families. He has been disrespecting our veterans for decades, continually proving he’s unqualified and temperamentally unfit to be commander-in-chief.

U.S. INTELLIGENCE

Trump has disparaged the U.S. intelligence community – not only rejecting their conclusions, but questioning their motives.

  • When asked whether he trusts intelligence, Trump said “not so much.”
  • Trump invited a foreign government to commit cyber espionage in the U.S.
  • Trump maintains that we don’t know if Russia is behind recent hacks, despite being personally briefed by Republican Representative Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
  • Trump called the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia was behind that hack was “public relations, frankly” and repeatedly denied their conclusion.
  • Trump has been accused by a former acting CIA director of being “an unwitting agent of Putin.”

AMERICA’S ALLIES

For decades, America has held strong alliances across the world – including those with NATO countries. NATO has stood with the United States, for example, invoking Article 5 after 9/11 and collaborating to fight the war on terror today. But on the campaign trail, Donald Trump has outlined plans to cut off America’s allies.

  • Trump said he would be fine if NATO broke up.
  • Trump accused NATO countries of ripping off the United States, saying “either they have to pay up… or they have to get out. And if it breaks up NATO, it breaks up NATO.”
  • Trump said NATO “may be obsolete” and “doesn’t really help us.”
  • Trump said he might not defend NATO allies against Russian aggression.
  • Trump has extended his threats past NATO to countries like Japan and South Korea.

FOREIGN DICTATORS

Donald Trump seems to have an admiration for dictators from across the world. From Vladimir Putin to Saddam Hussein and beyond, Trump has repeatedly complimented foreign leaders known for their records of oppression and abuse..

  • Trump said North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un deserves “credit” for taking out his rivals and has “got to be pretty smart.”
  • Trump gave Saddam Hussein unduecredit, saying “he did one thing well, he killed terrorists.”
  • Trump believes that, during the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Chinese government showed “strength.”
  • Trump thinks Vladimir Putin is a better leader than President Obama, “saying in terms of leadership, he’s getting an A and our president is not doing so well.” (But of course, his praise for Putin doesn’t stop there.)

FOREIGN BUSINESS ENTANGLEMENTS

Trump’s extensive foreign dealings would present significant conflicts of interest and endanger our national security. Trump refuses to disclose the full extent of his foreign business entanglements – but without knowing the details of them, how will Americans know whose interests Trump is putting first? What we do know is concerning.

  • Trump has extensive global financial dealings.
  • Trump admitted that if his business interests were threatened by another country’s government, he would retaliate with the power of the US government.
  • Trump has a record of business dealings with foreign governments – including Iran and China that we don’t know the extent of.
  • Trump has also had numerous foreign business partners we don’t know much about – including one that is allegedly linked to an international money laundering network.
  • Trump is in debt to foreign institutions for hundreds of millions of dollars.
  • Trump’s foreign entanglements would pose unprecedented challenges for U.S. foreign policy and national security.

ISIS

Despite Trump’s claims that he has a “secret” plan to defeat ISIS, he has no real plan at all. And his rhetoric is dangerously playing into terrorists’ hands.

  • Trump would “ask [his] generals” – the very same generals he believes he knows more than – for a plan to defeat ISIS, since he doesn’t currently have any plan at all.
  • Trump would continue to promote Russia’s brutal bombing campaign in Syria that is targeting civilians instead of ISIS.
  • Trump has suggested he would allow Syria to become a “free zone for ISIS.”
  • Trump would ban Muslims from entering the U.S., a policy that feeds radical jihadist propaganda.
  • Trump would engage in torture in the fight against ISIS and kill the families of terrorists.

IRAN

Donald Trump’s approach to Iran is devoid of any substance. He has prefered to denigrate American leaders and spew lies when it comes to Iran — though he was willing to deal with Iran when it made him money.

NORTH KOREA

Trump doesn’t understand the threat North Korea poses. On the campaign trail, Trump has taken positions that would endanger the security of the  United States and our allies and embolden North Korea.

  • Trump would meet with Kim Jong-Un, despite his continued violations of  international obligations to abandon his nuclear and missile programs.
  • Trump would consider cutting off defense support to Japan and South Korea.
  • Trump would open to door to nuclear proliferation in the region. When asked whether it’s “fine” for Japan and South Korea to get nuclear weapons, Trump said, “Can I be honest with you? It’s going to happen anyway.”
  • Trump joked about the prospect of nuclear war between Japan and North Korea, saying “good luck, enjoy yourself folks.”

RUSSIA

While Clinton has stood up to Russia, Trump panders to Putin. He has voiced support for policies and positions that align exactly with the Kremlin’s interests.

SYRIA

To date, Donald Trump has not laid out any real plans with respect to Syria or offered any indication that he takes the conflict and humanitarian disaster seriously.

  • Trump suggested Syria should be a “free zone for ISIS.”
  • Trump raised the possibility of sending 20,000 – 30,000 U.S. ground troops to Syria and Iraq.
  • Trump praised and encouraged Russia’s brutal bombing campaign in Syria, despite the climbing total civilian casualties and attacks on U.S.-backed forces.

Trump peddled lies about Syrian refugees.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

FBI Announces it is Reopening Clinton Email Investigation

imrs.php

Scroll down for updates.

On Friday, FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to a Congressional Judiciary Committee explaining that the FBI had decided to reopen the case investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State. The three page letter did not go into much detail which lead the Clinton campaign to respond. Campaign Chair John Podesta released a statement calling on Comey and the FBI to release more information surrounding their reasoning considering the election is less than two weeks away. The statement from Podesta is below.

“Upon completing this investigation more than three months ago, FBI Director Comey declared no reasonable prosecutor would move forward with a case like this and added that it was not even a close call. In the months since, Donald Trump and his Republican allies have been baselessly second-guessing the FBI and, in both public and private, browbeating the career officials there to revisit their conclusion in a desperate attempt to harm Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

FBI Director Comey should immediately provide the American public more information than is contained in the letter he sent to eight Republican committee chairmen. Already, we have seen characterizations that the FBI is ‘reopening’ an investigation but Comey’s words do not match that characterization. Director Comey’s letter refers to emails that have come to light in an unrelated case, but we have no idea what those emails are and the Director himself notes they may not even be significant.

It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election.

The Director owes it to the American people to immediately provide the full details of what he is now examining. We are confident this will not produce any conclusions different from the one the FBI reached in July.”

The FBI did elaborate later in the day saying that additional evidence related to the Clinton investigation was discovered on a laptop seized during the investigation of Rep. Anthony Weiner. FBI officials said that the bureau will investigate the newly discovered emails on the laptop and that it is possible that the emails could be duplicates of ones previously turned over by the Clinton camp. State Department officials said they have not been made aware of the FBI’s new evidence. More details are likely to be released in the coming weeks, but the news of a reopened investigation could affect Clinton at the polls.

Read the letter from Comey to Congress below (download the letter HERE).

UPDATE (10/28): Following an event in Des Moines, Iowa, Hillary Clinton spoke at a press event and addressed the issues of the FBI reopening its investigation. Clinton said that the FBI needs to release additional details regarding its investigation with the election being less than two weeks away. “Voting is underway, so the American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately,” she said. She said that she was confident that nothing new would be found and that she did not know what new evidence the FBI might be referring to adding, “Right now, your guess is as good as mine, and I don’t think that’s good enough.” A video of Clinton’s statement is below.

UPDATE (10/29): The Washington Post obtained a copy of an internal memo sent by FBI director James Comey to FBI employees. In the letter, he briefly explains his reasoning for taking the early details of an investigation to Congress. Read the letter below:

To all:

This morning I sent a letter to Congress in connection with the Secretary Clinton email investigation.  Yesterday, the investigative team briefed me on their recommendation with respect to seeking access to emails that have recently been found in an unrelated case.  Because those emails appear to be pertinent to our investigation, I agreed that we should take appropriate steps to obtain and review them.

Of course, we don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed. I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record.  At the same time, however, given that we don’t know the significance of this newly discovered collection of emails, I don’t want to create a misleading impression.  In trying to strike that balance, in a brief letter and in the middle of an election season, there is significant risk of being misunderstood, but I wanted you to hear directly from me about it.

Jim Comey

UPDATE (10/29): Hillary for America responded to the news with several press releases and a post on Medium from campaign chair John Podesta.

UPDATE (10/30): The FBI announced that it obtained a warrant to search the emails found on a laptop belonging to former Congressman Anthony Weiner. While it is unclear how many emails on the laptop, if any, are relevant to the Hillary Clinton email investigation, an official revealed that there are over 650,000 emails on the computer. It is likely that the majority belong to the former Congressman, but his wife, Clinton aide Huma Abedin, also used the laptop. FBI officials also revealed today that several lower level investigators knew the emails existed weeks ago, but only recently brought them to the attend of Director James Comey. It is also unclear why a warrant was received after Comey briefed Congress of the investigation on Friday.

Hillary for America campaign chair John Podesta and campaign manager Robby Mook have been on the defensive since the revelations were announced. The campaign released a video about the facts of the case and calling for more details to be released considering the timing. The video released by The Briefing is below.

UPDATE (10/31): Former Attorney General Eric Holder wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he called FBI director James Comey “a good man,” but said that he made a mistake by telling Congress about evidence that may have nothing to do with the Hillary Clinton email case. In the editorial, Holder says, “The department has a practice of not commenting on ongoing investigations. Indeed, except in exceptional circumstances, the department will not even acknowledge the existence of an investigation. The department also has a policy of not taking unnecessary action close in time to Election Day that might influence an election’s outcome. These rules have been followed during Republican and Democratic administrations. They aren’t designed to help any particular individual or to serve any political interest. Instead, they are intended to ensure that every investigation proceeds fairly and judiciously; to maintain the public trust in the department’s ability to do its job free of political influence; and to prevent investigations from unfairly or unintentionally casting public suspicion on public officials who have done nothing wrong.” Read the full editorial HERE.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: The Washington Post, The New York Times, ABC News, Politico, CNN, MSNBC, Medium, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Washington Post

Recapping Donald’s Day of New Housing Discrimination Revelations

hillary-logo-jpg-crop-thumbnail-small

Yesterday, Donald Trump suffered a day of new revelations and reporting on his real estate company’s history of  discrimination against black families. Mother Jones and NBC News published new reports on an additional racial discrimination suit from the 1980’s, as well as a disturbing anecdote in which Trump stood by his  father as he used the “N”-word and directed employees to put applications from aspiring black tenants “in a drawer.” The Las Vegas Sun reported on a local woman who served as a housing discrimination tester who, in her words, was “the right color” for a Trump apartment. And just today, the New York Observer exposed some of the aggressive and troubling tactics Trump’s lawyers used to discredit black individuals who wanted to rent in his buildings, including questioning their political affiliations and sexual activity.

Hillary for America also released a new video telling the story of Mae Brown Wiggins, a registered nurse who was turned away from an apartment Trump managed because of her skin color. The video is narrated by Senator Tim Kaine, who spent 17 years as a civil rights lawyer fighting housing discrimination–a stark contrast with Trump, who got his start managing apartment buildings that discriminated against African American renters.

Contrary to Trump’s claims, this level of discrimination was not common practice. The Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Donald Trump and his father and was “one of the strongest cases the Justice Department had ever seen for violations of the Fair Housing Act.”

Donald Trump must be held to account for his history of racial discrimination.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Mother Jones: Here’s Another Time a Trump Company Was Sued for Discriminating Against Black People: “Nor did [Trump] mention another relevant fact, which has not received prominent coverage during the current presidential campaign: just as the Trumps’ standoff with the Justice Department was winding down, their real estate business was hit by a group of similar lawsuits for again allegedly discriminating against black New Yorkers looking for apartments.”

  • “In April 1982, the Open Housing Center, a fair housing advocacy outfit, filed class action lawsuits against several landlords and real estate brokers on behalf of nine African Americans who had been denied apartments in Queens.”

TIME: Hillary Clinton Campaign Video Highlights Trump Housing Discrimination Case: “An emotional new campaign video for Hillary Clinton highlights reports of discriminatory rental practices by Donald Trump’s business that led to a 1973 Justice Department lawsuit. The video, released Tuesday, features Mae Brown Wiggins, who shares her story of being denied an apartment in one of Trump’s New York City buildings ‘based on the color of my skin.’”

  • Mae Brown Wiggins: “‘I felt very, very angry,’ Wiggins says in the video, wiping tears from her eyes. ‘So much so that it still evokes—it still evokes anger and hurt. Deep, deep hurt.’”

Las Vegas Sun: Henderson woman shares story as housing discrimination tester at Trump property: “A Henderson woman is coming forward to share her story as a housing discrimination tester at one of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s properties in the 1970s.”

  • Sheila Morse: “She said that when she said she would take the apartment, the superintendent was ‘thrilled’ and said he would have the lease ready the next day. ‘I guess I was the right color and the gentleman was the wrong color,’ Morse said.”

NBC News: ‘Not Wanted’: Black Applicants Rejected for Trump Housing Speak Out

  • Annette Gandy Fortt: “In 1973, New York City school teacher Annette Gandy Fortt was looking for a decent place to live. A listing for an apartment in a building owned by Donald Trump’s father, Fred, caught her eye — but she says the super told her there were no units available. ‘I was black,’ Fortt said recently. ‘I was not wanted.’”
  • Maxine Brown: “The breadth of the allegations doesn’t surprise Maxine Brown, who applied for an apartment in a Queens building owned by Fred Trump in 1963. ‘I was turned away because of my color,’ said Brown, 86, whose account was first reported by the New York Times in August.”
  • Stanley Leibowitz, former Trump rental agent who took Ms. Brown’s application: “‘Mr. Trump and his son Donald came into the office. I asked what I should do with this application because she’s calling constantly and his response to me was, ‘You know I don’t rent to the N-word. Put it in a drawer and forget about it,’’ Leibowitz, 89, told NBC News.”

WATCH the segment on NBC News’ reporting on last night’s Rachel Maddow Show.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Trump’s Self-Serving Business Agenda

hillary-logo-jpg-crop-thumbnail-small

Donald Trump has held 32 events at Trump properties in 16 months of running for President

Today, Hillary Clinton returned to Florida to layout what’s on the ballot this election — an economy that works for everyone not just those at the top. She shared her vision for more good jobs, economic fairness and how to bring Americans together. Meanwhile, Trump spent the morning promoting the opening of his new hotel, making this the 32nd event at Trump properties in 16 months of running for president.

From his using his presidential campaign to promote his business, to a decades-long practice of stiffing small businesses, to outsourcing jobs, to his proposal to cut taxes for billionaires like himself at the expense of everyone else, Trump’s self-serving agenda is clear. America deserves better than Trump – a candidate who would rather line his own pockets than prioritize our economy, businesses, and workers.

Donald Trump’s trickle-down economic tax plan would include cutting taxes for billionaires like himself and his family, at the expense of everyone else.

Trump has doubled down on his promise to repeal the estate tax, which would give his own family as much as a $4 billion windfall. Just think about what we could do instead with that one $4 billion windfall alone, which is just for Donald Trump’s family, if we invested it in America.

Trump’s plan includes a massive loophole that gives many millionaires and billionaires like himself a backdoor tax cut, letting them pay less than half the current tax rate on a substantial portion of their income.

Trump claims his tax cuts would be paid for by economic growth – but they come at the expense of hardworking Americans.  Far from growing the economy, experts on both sides of the aisle predict that Trump’s plans would risk a recession.

Trump’s tax plan is a bait and switch – he claims he’ll protect middle class families, but what he actually does is give huge tax breaks to the rich while raising taxes on at least 8 million middle-class families.

Trump called his tax avoidance “smart.”  Trump’s tax avoidance is not smart – it means $0 for first responders, $0 for education, $0 for veterans and $0 for our military.

New York Times: “Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.”

New York Times: “Donald J. Trump explicitly acknowledged for the first time during the first presidential debate that he used a $916 million loss that he reported on his 1995 income tax returns to avoid paying personal federal income taxes for years.” Trump’s business failures eventually led to multiple bankruptcies of his companies, which were devastating for his former employees and small contractors. Trump continued to earn millions.

Trump’s business failures eventually led to multiple bankruptcies of his companies, which were devastating for his former employees and small contractors. Trump continued to earn millions.

New York Times: “But even as his companies did poorly, Mr. Trump did well. He put up little of his own money, shifted personal debts to the casinos and collected millions of dollars in salary, bonuses and other payments. The burden of his failures fell on investors and others who had bet on his business acumen.”

Wall Street Journal: “An analysis by Temple University law professor Jonathan Lipson ranked Trump-branded casinos ‘the worst’ among their peers when it came to jobs over a 14-year period. Mr. Lipson, a bankruptcy scholar, found that Trump casinos shed some 7,400 jobs between 1997 and 2010. That works out, on average, to job losses per casino of 900—37% higher than at other Atlantic City gambling venues in the same period.”

No business person or contractor has proven too small for Trump to stiff, no single parent or retiree too in-need to escape the target of Trump University’s scams. The truth is that Donald Trump’s business antics have spelled disaster for countless working people and small businesses.

Trump has repeatedly refused to make good on his obligations to pay small businesses and contractors for work – from Marty Rosenberg, whose family business was paid hundreds of thousands less than it was owed for its work at Trump’s casino, to Andrew Tesoro, the architect of one of Trump’s golf course clubhouse who was told by Trump’s lawyers to accept pennies on the dollar or he’d be tied up in court for years.

Trump doesn’t buy American-made and his own products are outsourced.

The products that are branded with Trump’s name are outsourced from at least 12 countries. That doesn’t include the products used in his hotels and casinos, from bed linens made in Italy to furniture made in China.

Trump has used his campaign to promote and funnel money into his businesses.

Politico: “Trump’s Campaign Paid His Businesses $8.2 Million”

Politico: “Trump has used the campaign itself as a marketing platform to promote everything from the difficult-to-find Trump Steaks to his golf courses and a new Washington hotel. Trump’s tangle of businesses has raised concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest should he win the presidency, while the Trump-branded campaign has drawn mockery and allegations of pocket-padding from Trump’s critics.’”

Huffington Post: “Donald Trump used small donors’ money to buy nearly $300,000 worth of books from the publisher of his Art of the Deal last month, continuing a pattern of plowing campaign money back into his own businesses.”

@KatyTurNBC: “After this morning’s ribbon cutting, Trump will have held 32 events at Trump properties in 16 months of running for President”

Today, Trump is Washington, DC to open a new luxury hotel where he unsurprisingly used undocumented workers to make his project cheaper.  He even sued the District of Columbia in an attempt to pay lower taxes for the property.

Washington Post: “[A] Trump company may be relying on some undocumented workers to finish the $200 million hotel, which will sit five blocks from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, according to several who work there.”

Politico: “The city of Washington, D.C., is fighting Donald Trump’s legal drive to cut his tax bills for the luxury hotel he’s set to open in the Old Post Office Building next month … Attorneys for the Republican presidential nominee and real estate mogul contend that the roughly $1.7 million annual tax bills for the development for 2015 and 2016 were too high.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

HFA Releases Series of New Videos and Ads

Hillary_for_America_2016_logo.svg

On Monday, Hillary for America released a new round of commercials and ads. The first is a TV ad titled “Arrogant” that goes after Donald Trump following the weekend’s report that he has not paid taxes for years. The next three videos highlight the record of Mike Pence and draw parallels between Pence and Trump. Then, a video featuring prominent African-American actors talking about what is at stake in this election for the African-American community. Next, is an ad titled “Measure” that highlights Hillary Clinton’s career fighting for children and families. The next video, titled “Shane,” introduces a man who talks about his experience in the foster care system and how, as First Lady, Clinton helped pass the Adoption and Safe Families Act. Then, actress Selma Hayak is in a Spanish language ad underscoring the importance of the election for the Latino community. The next is a radio ad that highlights Trump’s business dealings with Cuba during the embargo. The final ad is a Spanish language radio ad that talks about how Trump treated hotels in his hotels like “second class workers.” Watch, and listen, to the ads below.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Hillary Clinton Unveils National Service Plan at Florida Events

screen-shot-2016-09-30-at-9-16-57-pm

Hillary Clinton held two rallies in Florida today with the first being in Fort Pierce. While Clinton spoke about a number of her key platform points, she introduced a new plan focused on expanding national service opportunities. She said that the plan will appeal to younger adults just out of college saying, “Studies have shown that millennials are particularly interested in volunteerism and are looking for ways to contribute to their communities. Applications to AmeriCorps positions are five times greater than the current number of slots available and the Peace Corps has seen a 32 percent increase in applications compared to the previous year.” A video of Clinton’s speech is below.

In Coral Springs, Clinton held a rally where she continued to tout her national service plan along with her broad platform. Clinton also went after Republican Donald Trump for his attacks on former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, calling a series of early morning Tweets attacking Machado “unhinged, even for him.” She then spoke about Trump’s lack of preparation for Monday night’s debate saying, “Did any of you see the debate the other night? Well, I think that it was pretty clear that there are two very different choices for our country based on two very different visions of the kind of America that we want to have. You know, my view is that we are already great and if we work together we will become even greater in the years ahead.” A video from the Coral Spring event is below.

While Clinton spoke at length about her plan for a National Service Reserve at both events, The Briefing released full details of the plan today as well. An outline of the plan is below:

  • Enable local and state leaders to activate highly-motivated and well-trained volunteers to address the most pressing issues in the community
  • Provide reservists with the opportunity to earn special certification for 50, 100, and 250 hours of service per year
  • Work with employers to encourage them to support employees in the Reserve through initiatives like volunteer time off
  • Draw on new AmeriCorps members to recruit, train, and lead the Reserve
  • Dramatically expand year-long service positions, with the vision that every person who wants to serve full-time can do so
  • Engage returning veterans as well as Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and other national service alumni in the Reserve as a way for them to continue to contribute to the common good
  • Expand service opportunities for encore: Clinton wants to expand service opportunities for all Americans throughout their lives, with a special focus on people over age 55
  • Grow Peace Corps to create additional opportunities for Americans to serve in countries around the world

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: The Briefing, Palm Beach Post, CBS Miami, ABC 10

Clinton, Kaine Release New Book, “Stronger Together”

stronger-together-9781501161735.in17

On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine released a new book titled Stronger Together. Hillary for America released the following description of the book. Buy the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Walmart, or your favorite book retailer.

Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine today released their official campaign book, “Stronger Together” today, a 256-page blueprint for America’s future. The book synthesizes more than fifty detailed policy ideas that Clinton and Kaine have advanced throughout the campaign, including specific and practical solutions to address some of the biggest challenges facing American families and our country.

“We have an old-fashioned idea about politics: People who are running to lead the United States of America should tell you what they’re going to do, why they’re going to do it, and how they’re going to get it done,” Clinton and Kaine write in the book’s preface. “That’s what this book is all about. Over the course of this campaign, we have laid out a comprehensive vision for our country: building an economy that works for everyone, not just those that the top; working with our allies and each other to keep our people safe and our country strong; and forging a strong sense of American unity to tackle the problems and seize the opportunities before us. To that end, we have released more than fifty detailed policy ideas, on everything from apprenticeships to the Zika virus.”

The detailed, specific policy solutions covered in the book stand in stark contrast to the Trump campaign’s soundbites and slogans. According to a recent Associated Press story, “Trump’s campaign has posted just seven policy proposals on his website, totaling just over 9,000 words. There are 38 on Clinton’s ‘issues’ page, ranging from efforts to cure Alzheimer’s disease to Wall Street and criminal justice reform, and her campaign boasts that it has now released 65 policy fact sheets, totaling 112,735 words.”

The book, which includes new introductions from each candidate, is broken into four sections focused on:

  • The economy: How we can build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top, by: making the boldest investment in good-paying jobs since World War II; making college debt-free for all Americans; rewriting the rules so companies share profits with employees instead of shipping jobs and profits overseas; ensuring that Wall Street, corporations and the super-wealthy pay their fair share; and putting families first with policies that match how people work and live.
  • Foreign policy: How we can secure American leadership and keep America safe by: defeating ISIS and global terrorism; continuing to strengthen our alliances and partnerships — and stick with them; being firm but wise with our rivals; keeping our military strong and supporting our veterans and military families; shaping the global rules that will keep us safe and make us more prosperous; and staying true to the values that have always made America great.
  • Domestic policy: How we can stand together and build bridges, not walls by providing every child the opportunity to live up to his or her potential; fixing our broken immigration system and keeping families together; reforming our criminal justice system; ending the epidemic of gun violence; breaking down the barriers that stand in the way of equal rights; and protecting our environment and natural resources.
  • Getting results: How we can break through the gridlock to get results by reforming our campaign finance system, protecting voter rights and expanding access to the ballot box.

In her introduction, titled Love and Kindness—And Action, Clinton tells the story of her upbringing, the lessons she learned from her mother’s difficult childhood, and her work as an advocate for children. She writes, “To drive real progress, you have to change both hearts and laws. You need both understanding and action. It’s unusual to hear a candidate for President say we need more love and kindness in our country — but that’s exactly what we need. Each of us stumbles at one time or another. I know I’ve made my share of mistakes and missteps. But life is about how we stand back up — and how we lift each other up, too.”

In his introduction, titled Fighting for Right, Kaine describes his service in Honduras and the inspiration he drew from his father-in law, former Virginia Governor Linwood Holton, who integrated the state’s public schools. He writes, “Lin’s example helped inspire me to work as a civil rights lawyer representing people who had been turned away from housing either because of the color of their skin or because they were an American with a disability … All these years later, I am still striving to do what I did then — to fight for right.”

The book was published by Simon & Schuster and is available in paperback, digital and audio formats.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Kaine Meets with Local Elected Officials in South Florida

fl-vp-candidate-tim-kaine-082716-003

Tim Kaine wrapped up a two campaign trip to Florida on Saturday. In Miami Lakes, Kaine toured Design South Florida, a local production company. He toured the facility and visited with employees. He then rallied elected Democrats in Pembroke Pines. Speaking to a collected group of Democratic mayors and elected officials, Kaine went after Donald Trump and touted Hillary’s Clinton’s plans and record. He framed Clinton as the logical choice over Trump saying, “She understands that our safety is about our muscle, but it’s also about our alliances. Donald Trump has a different attitude.” A video from his speech in Pembroke Pines is below.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack campaigned on behalf of Clinton meeting with voters at events across the state. He spoke about Clinton’s jobs plan and how it would create over 400,000 jobs in Pennsylvania alone. Vilsack is a native of Pittsburgh and was rumored to be on Clinton’s short list for running mate.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Miami Herald, Sun Sentinel, ABC 10