Pelosi dodges questions about Tierney ethics probe

BEVERLY, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi brushed off questions about coming to Massachusetts Friday to appear alongside Rep. John Tierney even though he is the target of an ethics investigation.

Pelosi made an appearance with Tierney, who represents the state's 6th Congressional District, at a forum on economic issues for women in Beverly.

While Tierney refused to answer questions at the event, FOX 25's Sharman Sacchetti asked Pelosi about why she chose not to wait until the completion of the probe to appear alongside the Congressman.

"Our timing is about the timing that works for the American people," Pelosi replied. "To create good paying jobs for them and not to worry about what's happening in Washington D.C., but to meet the needs of what is happening to people out here.

Tierney has been under fire since his wife pleaded guilty in 2010 to helping file false tax returns for her brother, who ran an illegal off-shore gambling ring.

When Pelosi was asked if she believed the ethics investigation was warranted, she said she welcomes it.
"I don't know the merits of it, I welcome it. I think John does too, to clear up the issue," Pelosi said.
Sacchetti also asked Pelosi about her longstanding goal to clean up Washington.

"Well, we have cleaned up Washington. We did. And now it has lapsed, but that's not the point," Pelosi said. "I want to go to your question. I'm here to stand with John Tierney and thank him for what he has done for our women's economic agenda."

Pelosi's appearance with Tierney is a sign the North Shore Democrat still carries national support as he faces what will likely be a tough bid for re-election. The California Congresswoman told FOX 25 that she would have joined Tierney at Friday's event even if he were facing no opposition.

Tierney is facing a primary challenge from former Marine Seth Moulton and immigration attorney Marisa Defranco. He is the target of Republicans as well, having narrowly beat Richard Tisei in 2012. Tisei is said to be considering another run for the seat.

Via: Fox 25 Boston

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Southern Illinois Limits Graduate Students' Hours Due to ObamaCare

Southern Illinois University is the latest institution to limit graduate assistants' workloads ahead of the Affordable Care Act's so-called "employer mandate" taking effect. In an e-mail sent earlier this week to Southern Illinois' Graduate School deans, chairs and graduate directors, Susan M. Ford, interim dean, said that starting in January the school will no longer approve graduate assistant contracts over a 50 percent assignment  -- what typically equates to a 20-hour workweek. Under the Affordable Care Act, large employers such as colleges and universities will have to provide employees working 30 hours or more weekly with health insurance, or face fines, beginning in January 2015.

"This restriction relates to the university's current understanding of the Affordable Care Act and its impact on the way [graduate assistant] benefits will be determined," reads the email, obtained by Inside Higher Ed. "This restriction is consistent with practice being enacted at universities across the country and put in place after consultation with the various offices involved with [graduate assistant] benefits on campus."

Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many students the new policy could affect.

Earlier this summer, the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa announced it was limiting graduate students' workloads universitywide ahead of the Affordable Care Act. Adjunct instructors at dozens of institutions across the country also have seen their workloads limited for the same reasons.

Via: Inside Higher Ed

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CA State Assembly: 10 Highest Paid Staff All Men

The ten highest-paid employees of the state Assembly are all men. According to state payroll records for the period ending on May 31, 2013,  the highest-paid employees of the lower house, along with their titles and monthly salaries, are as follows:

• Christopher Woods, Chief Consultant, $16,123.00
• Greg Campbell, Speaker’s Chief of Staff, $15,834.00
• Jon Waldie, Chief Administrative Officer, $15,100.00
• Gus Demas, Fiscal Officer, $14,895.00
• Richard Simpson, Chief Consultant, $14,734.00
• Arnold Sowell, Chief Consultant, $14,734.00 Christian Griffith, $14,676.00
• Geoffrey Long, Chief Consultant, $14,634.00
• Edward “Dotson” Wilson, Chief Clerk, $14,414.00
• James Deboo, Director of Majority Consultants, $13,750.00

Source: California State Assembly Payroll Records, 5/31/2013

Fredericka McGee, the speaker’s legal counsel, is the highest-paid woman on the Assembly’s payroll at #11 overall. She earns $28,752 less per year than the Assembly’s highest-paid man. That equates to roughly 85 cents for every dollar earned by Christopher Woods.

The legislature’s pay inequity at the top comes one day after Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg  urged the Capitol to  “talk about gender, talk about the biases we all hold,” according to the LA Times.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, who leads the California Women’s Legislative Caucus, believes the legislature has failed to deliver pay equity.

“We need to hire more women on our staffs, we need to bring in young women as interns. We don’t have equality here in the Capitol,” she told the Times.

In November 2011, the Assembly began increasing staff salaries after a three-year pay freeze, according to the Sacramento Bee’s Jim Sanders. However, the legislature has failed to use those raises to deliver pay equity.

Via: johnhrabe,com

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