Serrano Calls on Republicans to Bring a Clean Bill on Minimum Wage To Vote in House

As this newsletter was going to print, Congress was waiting to see if the Republicans would finally allow a bill raising the minimum wage to come to a vote. Serrano called on them to bring a clean bill to the floor for a vote and to leave out unrelated issues. The Republicans are rumored to be planning to load the bill with so-called ‘poison pills’ intended to attach unrelated and politically unpalatable issues to this wage hike.

“The American people deserve a fair up-or-down vote on raising the minimum wage, period,” Serrano said. “I fear that Republicans are trying to score political points at the expense of lower-income working people across the nation. They should be ashamed of such a move. With the real value of the minimum wage at its lowest level in decades, it’s long past time to act.”

“Like many of their other tactics designed to confuse the American people about their real priorities, this move will not work. The American people see through these types of election-year ploys. Republicans cannot hide from their record, however, of fiscal irresponsibility and woeful mismanagement of the government over the past five years. The minimum wage has not been raised since 1997. These anti-working class moves will catch up with the Republicans.

Hearing Highlights Importance of Census Funding

Yesterday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice and Commerce, led by Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.), held a hearing on the budget for periodic programs of the Bureau of Census. The account, which was severely cut by offsets on the House floor, funds important programs such as the American Community Survey, the Economic Census, and the decennial Census. The Constitutionally-mandated decennial Census, in particular, is important in making critical decisions ranging from the allocation of federal funds to the apportionment of Congressional seats.

Census Bureau Director Charles Kincannon testified that the cut to the requested funding that was passed by the House and the Senate Appropriations Committee would prevent the Bureau from moving forward with its plans to automate the decennial enumeration process. In this scenario, the Bureau would have to revert to a more paper-based methodology, resulting in less accuracy and an increase in the total cost of the 2010 Census by about $1 billion.

"Coming from an area that is perennially undercounted, New Yorkers understand that the full funding of the Census will be crucial to ensuring that our city is not shortchanged in the next decade," said Serrano. "I look forward to working with Chairman Wolf to fix this shortfall before the final conference report comes to the floor."

Serrano Votes Against Nuclear Pact with India

On July 26, 2006, Congressman Serrano voted against H.R. 5682, the United States and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act of 2006. He understands the importance of having a strong bilateral relationship with India, but believes that this agreement will undermine attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.

Serrano is concerned that this civilian nuclear technology could end up being used for military purposes. In addition, this could lead Pakistan to accelerate its own nuclear weapon production program.

Serrano has long advocated in favor of nuclear nonproliferation and when this legislation was considered on the House floor, he supported numerous amendments to help address nuclear security concerns. Unfortunately, the amendments were defeated and the legislation was passed by an overwhelming majority of the House.

Serrano Opposes Ineffective Burdens on School Libraries

On Wednesday the House passed H.R.5319, a bill to require school libraries to prohibit access to commercial social networking websites and chat rooms. Proponents of the bill proposed these requirements in an effort to curb growing activity on these sites by child predators seeking to find victims online. The American Library Association opposed the bill out of concern that the overly broad provisions would impose onerous burdens on already cash-strapped schools and libraries to block access to legitimate Internet content.

"I am glad that Congress has turned its attention to this issue," said Congressman Serrano, who voted against the bill. "Unfortunately, this bill would place unreasonable restrictions on our libraries, while completely ignoring the primary responsibility of parents to closely monitor their children's Internet activity in the home. I hope to be able to support legislation in the future that would address this problem in a meaningful way."

REMINDER: Serranos to Host Forum on Nonprofit Funding

On July 31, Congressman Serrano and State Senator Jose M. Serrano will convene a public forum to discuss private sector support for nonprofit organizations in the Bronx. "Dialogue with Donors: It’s Better in the Bronx," will be presented with the cooperation of the Foundation Center, the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers (NYRAG), and the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York.

The forum will be of particular interest to small- to medium-sized nonprofit organizations that have limited experience in seeking grants from private foundations and corporations. Topics to be covered during the discussion will include the identification of funding sources and the unique characteristics of the Bronx nonprofit environment.

There is no fee for this program, but advance registration is necessary. Space is limited, so participants are asked to register on the Foundation Center’s website, http://www.foundationcenter.org/newyork/dwd-bronx.html

• WHAT: Public forum on private funding for nonprofits.
• WHEN: Monday, July 31, 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.
• WHERE: The Repertory Theatre at Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse.

If you have any questions about this event, please feel free to contact Daniel White in Serrano's office at (718) 620-0084.