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Fighting for Equality; Celebrating Summer Learning; Show Us the Jobs; Passing the DISCLOSE Act

June 25, 2010
Pelosi Update

Fighting for Equality
This weekend marks the 40th Anniversary of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade. San Francisco Pride is the largest gathering of LGBT people and allies in the nation. This celebration honors San Francisco's proud history of advocacy for equal rights and acknowledges the contributions of the LGBT community to our city, our state, and our nation.

Last month, Californians celebrated the first Harvey Milk Day as a time for both reflection and recommitment to the fundamentally American value of equality. When Harvey Milk was sworn-in as Supervisor, his victory ushered in compassion, justice, and opportunity. He gave us pride in who we are. And his legacy lives on in San Francisco today.

We will not stop working until we finish ending discrimination in the military and the workplace, through the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and enactment of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The House has already passed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” so that all of our military men and women can serve our country openly and without fear of prejudice or persecution. I look forward to Senate passage of the repeal so we can send it to the President’s desk soon, and bringing a vote to the House floor on ENDA.

Celebrating Summer Learning
On Monday, I joined with young people and local leaders at City Hall to celebrate National Summer Learning Day. Summer learning programs, such as ‘A New Day for Learning’ in San Francisco, are a great opportunity to help lessen the problem of summer learning loss and close the achievement gap between low and middle income children.

Show Us the Jobs
On Thursday, I gathered with fellow Democratic women Members of Congress to urge Senate Republicans to stop blocking critical jobs-creation legislation. Democrats in the House have passed legislation to help American small businesses and middle-class families and keep jobs here at home. However, Senate Republicans have repeatedly said “no” – to summer jobs, to tax breaks to unleash private sector research and development, to increasing credit for small businesses, and to unemployment benefits to help those who have lost jobs through no fault of their own.

women.jobs.jpgCongresswoman Pelosi joins her colleagues on the steps of the Capitol to urge passage of jobs-creation legislation.

We are not resting until the Senate takes initiative, works with us, or accepts some of our proposals to grow the economy, reduce the deficit, and involve many more people in the prosperity of our country. You are either for Wall Street, or you are for Main Street. I ask the Senate Republicans: show us the jobs!

Passing the DISCLOSE Act
On Thursday, the House passed the DISCLOSE Act, the biggest campaign finance reform since McCain-Feingold, to close some of the biggest election loopholes and help ensure that the voices of the American people are not drowned out by corporate interests. This bill ensures that Americans know when Wall Street, Big Oil, and health insurers are the ones behind political advertisements.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent in the Citizens United case. This decision opened the floodgates to a corporate takeover of our elections and invited unrestricted special interest dollars in our campaigns. The DISCLOSE Act reaffirms a fundamental American value: the right to vote is afforded to the people, not the special interests.

Please feel free to forward this information to your family and friends. To learn more about these efforts, to express your views, or to sign up for email updates, please visit my Web site. I am now on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi.