Sen. Franken, others introduce legislation to ban toxic material found in children’s jewelry
Washington, D.C. – On the heels of a new report showing that the toxic metal cadmium is being used in children’s jewelry sold in stores across the nation, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Al Franken (D-MN) today (Thursday, Feb. 4) announced that they have introduced legislation that will define cadmium as a banned hazardous substance which will get cadmium out of children’s jewelry once and for all. The report shows that cadmium is being used by Chinese manufacturers who are producing children’s jewelry that is being sold in the United States
The Hill: Franken: ‘I don’t trust promises’ of Comcast, NBC given past experience
Sen. Al Franken said he doesn’t trust the promises made by the CEOs of Comcast and NBC Universal “from my experience in this business.” Franken (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Antitrust subcommittee, said his previous career “has given me reason to be very concerned about this potential merger.” “It matters who runs our media companies,” he said. “The media are our source of entertainment. They’re also how we get information about the world. So when the same company that produces those programs runs the pipes, we have reason to be nervous,” he said.
Huffington Post: Axelrod Pressed By Franken On White House’s Lack Of Leadership On Health Care
Shortly after Barack Obama addressed a Senate Democratic caucus meeting and urged them to push health care reform forward, two of the chamber’s most progressive members took the president’s closest adviser aside and asked him why the White House wasn’t doing more to help. Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-V.T.) both asked pointed health-care-related questions to senior adviser David Axelrod following Obama’s speech, multiple sources tell the Huffington Post.
Star Tribune: Franken warns Roe v. Wade may be in danger
Sen. Al Franken warned pro-choice supporters Tuesday that the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision may not be in good hands with the Roberts Court. “I fear that this court and the anti-choice activists are happy to adopt an incremental strategy that makes it harder for you to marshal your forces,” Franken told members of NARAL Pro-Choice America at a luncheon commemorating the 37th anniversary of the decision. “They’re happy to keep chipping away again and again at abortion rights in a way that the American people may not even notice.”
MPR News: Business leaders interested in Franken jobs plan
St. Paul, Minn. — U.S. Sen. Al Franken says the federal government should resurrect a plan the state of Minnesota used to get people back to work a quarter century ago. Franken says his proposal to subsidize wages could put half a million Americans back to work, including 15,000 Minnesotans. Franken, DFL-Minn., calls the plan “Cash for Jobs,” but its formal name is the Strengthening Our Economy Through Employment and Development Act, or SEED Act. Franken proposes using $5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to subsidize job creation in the private sector.
