Showing posts with label James Clyburn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Clyburn. Show all posts

Thursday, November 11, 2021

New bill would provide GI Bill benefits to descendants of Black World War II veterans

Congressional Democrats are reintroducing legislation that would repay the families of Black American veterans who served in World War II who were unable to take advantage of the original GI Bill’s benefits.

The GI Bill Restoration Act would provide descendants of these veterans a transferable benefit that could be used to obtain housing, attend college and start businesses, according to the announcement Thursday from the bill’s sponsors.

To mark Veterans Day, the bill was unveiled by House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., and Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., in the House and is expected to be introduced by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., in the Senate. The lawmakers said that GI benefits were limited to Black veterans because most state and local veterans administrations were largely run by white officials.

The bill would extend access to Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance benefits to the surviving spouse and direct descendants of these veterans who were alive when the bill took effect. It would also extend access to the VA Loan Guaranty Program, which helps provide home loans to veterans and surviving spouses.

Under the legislation, the Government Accountability Office would be required to establish a panel of independent experts to assess inequities in how benefits are distributed to minority and female service members.

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn pushes for using reconciliation in the fight for voting rights

On The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart Rep. James Clyburn pushed for Democrats to use reconciliation in the fight for voting rights. Watch him explain how reconciliation could be used to pass voting rights legislation.

Wednesday, July 08, 2020

Kamala Harris And Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Expand Access to Affordable High-Speed Internet



WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) on Wednesday joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in introducing comprehensive broadband infrastructure legislation to expand access to affordable high-speed internet for all Americans. The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act will invest $100 billion to build high-speed broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved communities to close the digital divide and connect Americans to ensure they have increased access to education, health care, and business opportunities. The legislation in the House of Representatives is led by House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and members of the House Rural Broadband Task Force. 
Along with Harris and Klobuchar, the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act is cosponsored by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).
“Underserved and rural communities don’t have access to reliable and affordable high-speed internet due to the shortcomings of our nation’s broadband infrastructure,” said Harris. “The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a stark reminder of how difficult it is for families to remain connected to school or work if they lack reliable internet. I am proud to join my colleagues in announcing this comprehensive legislation – it is past-time to make reliable high-speed internet a reality for everyone.”  
“When we invest in broadband infrastructure, we invest in opportunity for every American,” Klobuchar said. “In 2020, we should be able to bring high-speed internet to every family in America — regardless of their zip code — and this legislation is a critical step to help bridge the digital divide once and for all.”
"I am pleased Sen. Klobuchar is leading the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act in the Senate,” Clyburn said.“This legislation was crafted in collaboration with the House Rural Broadband Task Force and members of the Energy and Commerce Committee. It invests over $100 billion to build nationwide high-speed broadband infrastructure, and makes the resulting internet service affordable for all. Sen. Klobuchar understands the needs of underserved communities and has been a consistent champion for the expansion of high-speed broadband access. I look forward to working together to pass this critical piece of legislation in both chambers."
According to the Federal Communications Commission’s most recent Broadband Deployment Report, 18 million people lack access to broadband, and experts widely agree that this number is understated.
The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act would do the following:
  • Encourage Universal Broadband Access by:
    • including $80 billion to deploy high-speed broadband infrastructure nationwide;
    • allocating $5 billion for low-interest financing of broadband deployment through a new secured loan program; and
    • establishing a new office within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to ensure efficient use of federal money.
  • Ensure Internet Affordability by:
    • requiring an affordable option for internet service plans offered on the newly-built infrastructure;
    • providing a $50 monthly discount on plans for low-income consumers; and
    • directing the FCC to collect and publicize data on prices charged for broadband service throughout the country.
  • Promote Internet Adoption by:
    • providing over $1 billion to establish grant programs for states to close gaps in broadband adoption, as well as digital inclusion projects for organizations and local communities to implement;
    • including $5 billion to enable students without internet at home to participate in remote learning; and
    • authorizing funding for Wi-Fi on school buses so students can stay connected, especially in rural areas where longer bus rides are common.
The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act is endorsed by the Public Knowledge, Free Press, National Consumer Law Center, New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, Consumer Reports, Schools, Health, Libraries, and Broadband Coalition (SHLB), Common Cause, Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, , Leadership Conference, Access Now,  Electronic Frontier Foundation, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, National Education Association, National Defense Industrial Association, Communications Workers of America, and North America’s Building Trades Union. 


Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Rep. Clyburn calls General Robert E. Lee a loser

House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn sharply rebuked President Trump’s praise of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, who the president praised as a “great general,” but the Democrat called a “loser.”

“The fact of the matter is, Robert E. Lee was a great tactician, was not a great person,” said Clyburn, of South Carolina, on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “Robert E. Lee was a slave owner and a brutal slave master. Thankfully, he lost that war and I find it kind of interesting the president is now glorifying a loser. He always said that he hated losers. Robert E. Lee was a loser.”

“And even if you could get beyond that at the end of the Civil War,” he continued, “Robert E. Lee asked all of his comrades to lay down their guns and to furl those Confederate flags, and if my memory serves and put them in your attics, so if the president is going to glorify Robert E. Lee, let's at least be consistent about it.”

[SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS]

Saturday, August 25, 2018

James Clyburn: Democrats must advertise in the Black Press to win in November

During an interview with NNPA (National Newspaper Publishers Association) Newswire Rep. James Clyburn (Dem, South Carolina) made three suggestions he thinks Democrats should follow to increase black voter turnout so that they can win big in the 2018 mid-terms. One was to advertise in the Black Press

From the NNPA Newswire interview:

...Democrats shouldn’t rely on an anti-President Donald Trump wave to get out the vote. Finally, Clyburn said that candidates must advertise in the Black Press, if they want to win in November.

“We are also talking about districts where Barack Obama won twice and where Hillary Clinton also won, but these voters don’t turn out for the so-called ‘off-year elections,’” Clyburn said. “We can’t let these voters feel like we’re taking them for granted.”

Clyburn, 78, said he was recently taken aback by one candidate, who said that he could win the Black vote by running on an anti-Trump platform.

“Wait one second,” Clyburn said that he told the individual. “We can’t just go around being ‘Republican-light.’ We have to be out there putting forth an alternative message, for our base, and we have to reach out to Black voters and let them know we’re not taking them or any of our base for granted.”

To that end, Clyburn said advertising campaigns must largely include the Black Press.

“It’s very, very important…Chairman Richmond and I have had candidates in and we’ve been telling them that one of the best ways to demonstrate that you’re not taking the Black vote for granted is to advertise in the Black Press,” Clyburn said.

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) is the oldest and largest trade group representing the Black Press, comprised of more than 200 Black-owned newspapers operating in the United States.

“I’ve been in [the Black Press]. My daughter and I ran a newspaper down South, so I know that candidates tend to take Black media for granted,” Clyburn said. “They tend to judge Black media the same way they do other media and you just can’t do that, because the business model is totally different.”

Each Sunday after attending Morris Brown A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., Clyburn said he and other churchgoers habitually pick up the local Black-owned newspaper.

“People tend to pay attention to the headlines, the stories and the ads in the Black Press so it’s vitally important that candidates know this,” Clyburn said.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Democratic takeover could bring first black speaker of the house

Upheaval in the Democratic caucus could pave the way for a historic House leader — and some potential names are already being discussed.

The next speaker of the House could be a black Democrat. And Congress would never be the same.

In 230 years, there’s never been a black speaker, or any black lawmaker seriously in the running for the post. That could change after voters go to the polls in November.

Democrats are their closest to winning back the House in years. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said she will run for speaker again, but after 16 years at the top, some lawmakers — and a rising number of Democratic candidates — want someone else to take over.

The prospect of a black speaker, which seemed like a long shot just months ago, has started to bubble up more in private conversations in recent weeks, particularly among Democrats in the influential, 48-member Congressional Black Caucus.

After Rep. Joe Crowley of New York, a potential Pelosi successor, went down in a shocking primary defeat in June, the questions about who might replace her have only grown. And that raises the possibility of an African-American Democrat being sworn in as the 55th speaker on Jan. 3.

The members with the likeliest shot, according to more than 20 Democratic lawmakers and aides, include Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, currently the No. 3 House Democrat; Hakeem Jeffries of New York; Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, current chairman of the CBC; Elijah Cummings of Maryland; and Marcia Fudge of Ohio.

Read more: Democratic takeover could bring first black speaker

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

James Clyburn: Sanders' free college plan would hurt HBCUs'

South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn, who recently endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, told NewsOne Now in a phone interview that rival Bernie Sanders' free public college plan would hurt Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

"If you say that you're going to have college -- free two-year college -- among public institutions, why would a student go to an HBCU? And most of which are private institutions," said Clyburn. "What will happen is these HBCUs will all close down all across America because they would not be able to afford to stay open."

HBCUs account for less than 3% of all of the universities and colleges in the U.S., but produce 22% of bachelor's degrees earned by African-Americans, according to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, a national organization that supports HBCUs. HBCUs are already facing serious economic difficulties due to low enrollment and tighter PLUS loan requirements that were passed by the Department of Education in 2011, according to the fund.

PLUS loans declined substantially at HBCUs in 2012 and 2013, according to the Institute of Education Sciences. That same year, enrollment also declined dramatically.

"If you tell me you're going to provide the resources for people to get these educations, than I'm all for it," Clyburn said.

Clyburn's comments come as Sanders has been trying to boost his appeal among black voters and expand his voting base as the Democratic primary expands to more diverse states. He's currently completing a "Feel the Bern" HBCU tour, in hopes of appealing to younger African-American voters.

[SOURCE]

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

James Clyburn dismisses Tim Scott's historic Senate victory in South Carolina

On Tuesday night Tim Scott became the first African American elected to the US Senate from South Carolina. An unimpressed Rep.James Clyburn , a black congressman made the following statement to the Washington Post dismissing the victory.

If you call progress electing a person with the pigmentation that he has, who votes against the interest and aspirations of 95 percent of the black people in South Carolina, then I guess that’s progress.

[SOURCE] Examples of Clyburn's statement would include Scott getting an F on the NAACP annual scorecard. Voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he voted to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress, opposed the Congressional Black Caucus’s budget proposal and voted to delay funding a settlement between the United States and black farmers who alleged that the federal government refused them loans because of their race