U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren
The “Run Warren Run” movement to draft U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren for president is over. The movement, spurred by MoveOn.org and Democracy For America, spanned six months, garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures, and even included ground operations in Iowa and New Hampshire. However, Warren insisted from the get-go that she did not want to run. To mark this shift, MoveOn.Org, Democracy For America and the Working Families Party held a conference call last night featuring Senator Warren. The message from Warren was that she is going to continue to fight hard for Americans from her Senate seat, but that she needs our help to do so.Senator Warren said on the call that she loves her job representing Massachusetts as a U.S. Senator. She stressed that it’s never been about one person or one campaign. And Warren kept repeating the need to “stand up and fight” even if the odds are against you. In particular, Sen. Warren mentioned several big fights going on right now:
Trade — Warren said that the “Fast Track” (a/k/a Trade Protection Authority or TPA) bill may be voted on by the U.S. House tomorrow. The U.S. Senate approved Fast Track several weeks ago. Warren stated that President Barack Obama wants Fast Track treatment for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal for which negotiations are almost complete. However, Warren strongly opposes both Fast Track and the TPP. According to Warren, similar trade deals in the past have been devastating for U.S. manufacturing jobs. She also noted that big corporations and their lobbyists have seen the TPP draft and have had seats at the table negotiating it, but that Americans and their representatives in Congress have had no such negotiating power. Warren pointed out that we won’t be able to see the TPP deal until after it is presented to Congress in take it or leave it form, with no ability by Congress to amend or filibuster it. Warren also said that Fast Track would apply to any trade deal by any president for the next six years, including possibly a Republican president.
Student Debt — Senator Warren stated that the cost of college is out of control. She said that two-thirds of students are borrowing money, and that the average student debt is $30,000. Warren said that such debt is a drag on America’s economy, because, for example, such students and graduates typically can’t buy a home or a new car. Warren said that she has proposals on the table to reduce student debt, including a “debt free option.” Sen. Warren also said that states must stop cuts to higher education, which increases tuition; that the federal government should increase Pell Grants, which have shrunk; and that the government should not profit on student loans.
Social Security — Warren said that protecting and expanding Social Security is a top priority. She noted that, last March, 42 Democratic and Independent Senators voted to increase Social Security benefits, but that all Republican Senators voted “No,” so the bill was defeated.
Hold Wall Street accountable — Sen. Warren said that the Wall Street bankers are trying to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act and other laws and regulations put in place after the 2008 financial collapse. Warren, who previously taught bankruptcy law at Harvard, said that such protections must be kept in place to avoid another financial disaster.
Taking back the Senate — Warren said that she will push to try to get more progressive Democrats, such as Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, elected to the Senate to create a Democratic majority.
Senator Warren then took questions from callers. On the TPP, Warren said that Americans need to contact their representatives by phone, Twitter, Facebook or otherwise, demand to see the TPP draft, and tell them to vote “No.” On student debt, Warren stated that outstanding debt now totals $1.3 trillion, and that interest rates are often way above the break-even point for the federal government. Warren said that Congress should vote to refinance such debt at lower rates. She said that 58 Senators voted in 2014 to do so, but that Republicans filibustered the bill so it did not pass.
Warren was also asked about racial disparity in law enforcement. She said that reforms are badly needed regarding mandatory minimum sentences, minority incarceration rates, young men dying in police custody and other areas, and that such reforms are gaining bipartisan traction.
Finally, Senator Warren was asked what ordinary citizens can do on big issues such as climate change and wealth inequality. Warren replied that she once had a big idea to create an authority to protect consumers against the big banks. She said that her friends and colleagues told her it was a great idea, but that she shouldn’t bother trying because the banks would simply crush it. However, Warren persisted with her idea, got over 100 groups such as the AFL-CIO and Working Families to back it, and, even though the banks tried to stop her, she succeeded in creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Moreover, Warren said that, because of the CFPB’s actions, big banks have had to return $5 billion to people they cheated on subprime mortgages and other transactions. Senator Warren said that the lesson of this story, in which “David beat Goliath,” is that we can stand up to powerful interests and win, if we organize and fight hard, no matter how imposing the odds.
Photo by Ninian Reid, used under Creative Commons license. http://is.gd/kZ9dhx
