Hillary Clinton Releases Statement on Proposed House Bill for Puerto Rican Debt Relief

Today, Hillary Clinton released a statement cautiously supporting a bill introduced in House of Representatives that would provide debt relief for Puerto Rico. The plan would introduce a federal oversight board to help Puerto Rico through the process of restructuring its $72 billion debt. In her statement, Clinton expressed her concern about a number of the bill’s key provisions, but said that it was a step forward in helping the Puerto Rican government deal with its debt crisis. Clinton’s statement is below:

“The House Natural Resources Committee reached an agreement on a bipartisan bill to address the Puerto Rican debt crisis. While I have serious concerns about several provisions in this bill, including the creation of an oversight board that would exert substantial control over Puerto Rico, I believe that we must move forward with this legislation. Otherwise, without any means of addressing this crisis, too many Puerto Ricans will continue to suffer. However, as this bill moves forward, I will work to ensure that concerns about the oversight board are addressed and any such entity includes members that will act in the best interest of Puerto Ricans — protecting their health, their pensions, and their well-being. We can no longer sit idly by while hedge funds seek to maximize their profits at the island’s expense. That’s why I will continue to stand with the Puerto Ricans to ensure that they can put their economy back on a path of stability and prosperity, including the steps I am committed to take as President to provide equality in critical federal programs.”

En español:

“Ayer, el Comité de Recursos Naturales de la Cámara de Representantes llegó a un acuerdo sobre un proyecto de ley bipartidista para enfrentar la crisis de deuda de Puerto Rico. Aunque tengo algunas dudas sobre varias secciones de este proyecto de ley, incluyendo la creación de una junta de supervisión que ejerce control sobre Puerto Rico, creo que es un paso adelante, aunque debemos seguir trabajando en esta legislación. De lo contrario, y sin ningún medio para hacerle frente a esta crisis, muchos puertorriqueños seguirán sufriendo. Sin embargo, a medida que este proyecto de ley continúe su proceso en el Congreso, voy a trabajar para asegurarme de que las preocupaciones por la junta de supervisión sean atendidas y que cualquier entidad que sea instituida debe incluir a miembros que actuarán en el mejor interés de nuestros cociudadanos en Puerto Rico. Los cuales deben de proteger la salud pública, las pensiones y el bienestar de todos. Ya no podemos quedarnos con los brazos cruzados mientras que algunos fondos de inversones buscan maximizar sus ganancias a costa de la isla. Es por eso que voy a seguir apoyando al pueblo de Puerto Rico hasta que se logre la estabilidad de su economía y la prosperidad, incluyendo los pasos que estoy comprometida a tomar como presidenta para lograr la igualdad en los programas federales cruciales.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: Washington Post

Clinton Releases Plan to Protect LGBT Rights

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton listens to a question at town hall meeting at White Mountain Community College, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, in Berlin, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Hillary Clinton has released her plans to fight for the rights of the LGBT community. She has previously said that “gay rights are human rights,” and her plan outlines a mix of legislation and support. The full details of the plan are available on The Briefing, but an outline is below:

• Fight for full federal equality for all LGBT Americans
  • Work with Congress to pass the Equality Act
  • Continue President Obama’s LGBT equality executive actions
  • Supper efforts underway to clarify that under federal statutes “sex discrimination” includes discrimination on the basis of “gender identity” and “sexual orientation”
• Support LGBT youth, parents, and elders
  • End discriminatory treatment of LGBT families in adoptions
  • Improve school climate for all students
  • End LGBT conversion therapy for minors
  • Combat youth homelessness
  • Ensure LGBT elders can retire with dignity and respect
  • Correct national data to better serve LGBT individuals and families
• Honor the military service of LGBT people
  • Upgrade service records of LGBT veterans dismissed due to their sexual orientation
  • Support efforts to allow transgender personnel to serve openly
• Secure affordable treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS
  • Call on Republican governors to extend Medicaid coverage to provide life-saving health care to people living with HIV
  • Cap out-of pocket expenses for people with HIV/AIDS
  • Expand the utilization of HIV prevention medications, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
• Protect transgender rights
  • Protect transgender individuals from violence
  • Streamline identity documents
  • Invest in law enforcement training on interactions with LGBT individuals
• Promote human rights of LGBT people around the world
  • Increase support for the Global Equality Fund

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The Briefing

Clinton Unveils Wall Street Plan

MANCHESTER, NH – SEPTEMBER 19: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton raises her arms stands on stage during the New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention at the Verizon Wireless Center on September 19, 2015 in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

On Thursday, Hillary Rodham Clinton unveiled her plan to regulate Wall Street and protect Americans. In an op-ed on Bloomberg she explained her plan and her reasoning for a number of its points. She then released details of the plan on The Briefing. The plan is very detailed and it would be impossible to insert the entire plan into this post. We have summarized the main points below:

• Defend and preserve Dodd-Frank
  • Veto any legislation that attempts to weaken the law
  • Fight Republican attempts to repeal it
• Reduce dangerous risks in the financial system
  • Impose a “risk fee” on the liabilities with of banks with more than $50 billion in assets
  • Reorganize, downsize, or break apart firms that are too large and too risky
  • Increase oversight of the “shadow banking” system to reduce risk
  • Introduce high-frequency trading tax for the stock markets
  • Impose compensation rules on senior management of banking institutions that suffer losses that threaten its financial health
  • Strengthen the Vlocker Rule (which prohibits banks from making risky or speculative trading bets with taxpayer-backed money)
  • Increase transparency in the banking system
  • Introduce international cooperation to curb excessive risk-taking
  • Increase the financial system’s security against cyber attacks
• Hold individuals and corporations responsible when they break the law or put the system at risk
  • Ensure individual accountability when prosecuting wrongdoing
  • Ensure that fines affect the bonuses of executives, supervisors, and employees with misconduct takes place on their watch
  • Prohibit individuals in financial services from working in the industry after being convicted of egregious crimes
  • Extend the statute of limitations for financial fraud
  • Strongly prosecute insider traders
  • Create guidelines for that ensure transparency and accountability
  • Require that corporations admit to wrongdoing as a condition of settlement agreements
  • Increase transparency of corporate settlements
  • Restrict SEC waivers for repeat offenders
  • Give prosecutors the resources to punish law-breakers
  • Strengthen the SEC and CFTC
  • Increase maximum penalties for SEC and CFTC actions
  • Reward whistleblowers for bringing illegal activities to attention of authorities
• Ensure that the financial systems serves investors and consumers, not just itself
  • Make sure that Wall Street helps Main Street grow and prosper
  • Protect all Americans from unfair and deceptive practices that put their earned income at risk

Clinton’s plan protects hard working Americans while ensuring that those who threaten the economy and financial system as a whole are held accountable. You can read the plan in full on The Briefing and read her op-ed on Bloomberg. She summed up her plan saying, “The bottom line is that we can never allow what happened in 2008 to happen again. Just as important, we have to encourage Wall Street to live up to its proper role in our economy — helping Main Street grow and prosper. With strong rules of the road and smart incentives, the financial industry can help more young families buy that first home, make it possible for entrepreneurs to create new small businesses and support hardworking Americans saving for retirement. My plan will help us unlock that potential. We’ll create good-paying jobs, raise incomes and help families afford a middle-class life, with less speculation and more growth — growth that’s strong, fair and long-term. That’s what I’m fighting for in my campaign, and that’s what I’ll do as president.”

Tonight, Clinton will present an award during the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala, and she will attend a private fundraiser in Washington, DC. For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: Bloomberg, The Briefing, The New York Times, Business Insider

Clinton Unveils Gun Control Plan During NH Town Hall

Hillary Rodham Clinton laid out her plans to combat gun violence today during a town hall event on the campus of Manchester Community College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Clinton’s plan, which was also released in a post on The Briefing, contains many parts to help cut down the 33,000 deaths every year that occur because of guns and to combat the fact that 20% – 40% of gun purchases in the United States are completed without a background check. Clinton calls for comprehensive background check reform, closing the “Charleston Loophole,” which allows a gun purchase to continue if a background check is not complete after three days, and to introduce tighter restrictions on internet and gun show sales.

Clinton vowed to fight the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other lobbying efforts to curb gun control. She would repeal the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,” a law that protects gun manufacturers and dealers from being held responsible for the violence their guns commit. She is also calling for stricter regulations and more frequent inspects of gun dealers.

Clinton argued that checking a person’s background is key to ensuring whether they should own a gun. She vowed to support legislation which would prevent domestic abusers from buying and possessing guns, make “straw purchasing” (buying a gun for someone who is a convicted felon) a federal crime, improve existing regulations to ensure guns stay out of the hands of those who are mentally ill, and renew the ban on military-style assault weapons. Clinton points out that a lot of what she proposes is not new, but existing legislation is either extremely weak or was allowed to expire. She spoke strongly during the event, but she broke down for moment when she introduced, Nicole Hockley, the mother of a child killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. She is now the executive director of the group Sandy Hook Promise.

She vowed to make gun control a top priority because too many people have died as a result of weak laws. She said, “It’s time for us to say, ‘Wait a minute, we’re better than this, our country is better than this, and there are steps we can take that improve gun safety and further prevention of violence. We haven’t done what we need to do to try and make our children safe. That’s what’s behind the proposals I’m making. They’re not new — there’s nothing unique about them other than that I’m so determined to do everything I possibly can.”

A full video from the town hall event is available on C-SPAN.

Tomorrow, Clinton begins a two day campaign trip to Iowa where she is schedule to take place in four events. For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The New York Times, International Business Times, The Briefing