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Two Illinois House members have plans for the salary they will earn during the government shutdown — and it's not to keep the funds.
Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL,13) says he will donate his salary to the Northern Illinois Food Bank.
Washington, DC— Today, Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) announced he will be donating his pay earned during the government shutdown to the Northern Illinois Food Bank.
“Because of a small group of intransigent Tea Party extremists, Congress has failed to pass a budget and shutdown the government – a reckless action which could have a devastating impact on our still struggling economy,” said Foster. “Until Congress ends this irresponsible shutdown, I will donate my pay to charity.”
Washington, DC— Today, Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) released the following statement on the federal government shutdown:
“The hardworking people of the 11th Congressional District are tired of this kind of brinksmanship, and so am I. It’s time to end the political grandstanding and get to work to reach an agreement.
If Congress fails to reach a budget agreement by Monday, the federal government will shut down.
Government works best when both sides come together to produce legislation that is supported by the middle – but unfortunately the process has been hijacked by a small group of extremists in the Republican Party. With just one day left to avoid a government shutdown, it’s time to end the political posturing and get to work.
Imagine if Congress mandated that an arbitrary number of jail cells be filled with prisoners -- regardless of the crime rate. Authorities would be required to incarcerate people, no matter the circumstances or the affront to human rights. That's basically the state of immigration detention in the U.S.
Imagine if a law enforcement agency insisted on incarcerating a certain number of prisoners, every day, every year, regardless of how many of those prisoners actually needed to be there; what the actual crime rate was; and whether there was another, cheaper way to keep track of them.
Washington, DC -- Today, Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-21) and Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) sent a letter signed by 63 of their colleagues to President Obama urging him to remove a FY15 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security that mandates Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have over thirty thousand immigrants in detention at all times. The letter emphasizes that in an era of fiscal restraint, this mandate undermines the ability of ICE to exercise discretion and embrace more cost-effective alternatives to detention.
Washington, DC— Today, Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) voted against H.J. Res. 59, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution.
“I am very concerned that the stopgap measure introduced by House Republicans indicates they are more interested in political posturing than passing workable legislation,” said Foster.
Washington, DC—Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11) joined a discussion following Citizenship Day highlight the important contributions that immigrants make to our nation and our economy, and the economic benefits of passing comprehensive immigration reform.
Video of the speech is available here.
The full text is below:
PITTSBURGH -- When you're driving in circles, searching in vain for a parking space, do you wish your car could fold into a scooter?
There are now places where you can try your hand at making that scooter. In fact, someone's already working on it.
Welcome to TechShop Inc. -- your dad's basement workshop on steroids. A TechShop is packed with equipment -- plasma cutters, milling machines, 3-D printers and "iron workers" capable of drilling neat holes in thick steel -- and open to anyone with some ambition and $1,400 for the annual membership fee.