Senator Mark Udall (D. CO) continues to paint Tea Party Rep. Cory Gardner (R. CO) as an out of touch extremist and here's another issue he's touching on to make his point:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) introduced a bill Thursday with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) that would amend federal code to ensure the Social Security Administration recognizes all lawfully married same-sex couples, including those living in one of the 33 states that do not recognize same-sex marriage.
On the same day, Udall hit the sole Republican working to unseat him, Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), over the representative's past stances on marriage equality with a social media campaign featuring the twitter hashtag #TakingColoradoBackwards.
The campaign highlights Gardner's past votes banning same-sex couples from adopting children, allowing LGBT discrimination and opposing granting hospital visitation rights to same-sex couples in the state.
"Equality and inclusion are basic Colorado ideals that Mark Udall fights for every single day," Udall for Colorado spokesman Chris Harris said in a statement. "Congressman Gardner's long record of enabling discrimination against our LGBT friends and family members is unconscionable and offensive."
An April Quinnipiac University poll found that 61 percent of Colorado voters support allowing same-sex couples to marry in the state. - Huffington Post, 5/8/14
By the way, here's more info on the bill Udall introduced with Murray:
http://www.metroweekly.com/...
With legislation introduced Thursday, Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) hope to change that. The Social Security and Marriage Equality (SAME) Act would amend federal code so as to ensure recognition of all lawfully married same-sex couples, even if they live in one of the 33 states that do not recognize same-sex marriage.
“Your zip code should not determine whether or not your family will have the means to survive after the death of a spouse,” Murray said in a statement. “While I believe the Social Security Administration can, and should, resolve this inconsistency through administrative action, the SAME Act would provide a roadmap to ensure equality under our federal laws do not end at state lines.”
Although the Social Security Administration has moved to extend spousal benefits for those living in marriage-equality states, as well as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicare, delays remain for spousal retirement, spousal survivor and lump sum death benefits for those married same-sex couples living in states that do not permit same-sex marriage, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
“The current delay of survivor benefits claims by the Social Security Administration not only places an unfair economic burden on legally married same-sex couples, but an extremely emotional one as well,” Murray added.
The bill also applies to those same-sex couples legally married in other countries, according to Murray’s office.
Some have argued that the Social Security Administration could take action on its own to fix such inconsistencies. “This is an issue a number of us believe could be resolved without legislation,” said Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Project director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, during a conference call with reporters. But with the Windsor decision approaching its one year anniversary on June 26, advocates hope the introduction of federal legislation will draw attention to the issue while providing the Social Security Administration a roadmap for implementation, even if it may not come up for a vote in the legislative days that remain.
“Nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, there’s no excuse for the federal government to continue withholding certain federal benefits from legally married same-sex couples,” Udal said in a statement. “Marriages don’t end when couples cross state lines, and neither should the federal benefits they have earned.” - Metro Weekly, 5/8/14
By the way, here's another thing Udall is backing:
http://www.csindy.com/...
Sen. Mark Udall is one of 26 congressional sponsors backing the Bank On Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday, May 6.
This bill is not a cure-all for the brutal student loan situation, as reported on in our May 7 cover story, but it's a helpful step. The bill allows people with existing student loans to refinance their loans at the current interest rate. This is good for almost everyone with loans. The current interest rate for undergraduate Stafford loans is 3.86 percent, and for graduate loans 5.41 percent.
Sure, Forbes reported yesterday that these rates will go up by 0.8 percent next year, but 4.66 percent still beats 6.8 percent. It's a simple change, it's financially sensible, and after the bipartisan support for the student loan interest rate changes implemented last year, it sounds like this bill has a good chance of passing.
Udall says, "This common-sense bill would allow students to benefit from today's low interest rates and could amount to hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in savings." - Colorado Springs Independent, 5/8/14
By the way, here's a little more info about the timing of Gardner's decision to run for Senate:
http://www.coloradoindependent.com/...
OFFICIALLY, U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner’s campaign for U.S. Senate started in March at a Denver lumberyard with a promise “to begin the hard work of rebuilding our great nation.”
Unofficially it began in D.C. nearly two months earlier with a political bluff.
While actively but covertly planning his surprise candidacy against U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, Gardner was leveraging his congressional clout in an attempt to smear his soon-to-be opponent.
Seven weeks before formally launching his Senate bid, Gardner was using his pull as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to call for a congressional investigation into inquiries made by Udall about health insurance enrollment in Colorado. A review of news reports from the first half of January show that Gardner — who at the time was running for re-election to his 4th Congressional District seat — was brokering political deals to switch races and launch his Senate bid while trumpeting the need for a federal probe of the senator he was fixing to unseat.
The timing of Gardner’s allegations that Udall made “inappropriate use of government power” calls into question the motivation behind his threat of a congressional investigation and suggests it was less a serious inquiry into wrongdoing than a stunt in a campaign he had yet to announce.
“This is yet another instance where Congressman Gardner has been caught trying to score political points at the expense of Colorado families,” Udall’s campaign spokesman James Owens said Wednesday. “Instead of working to make the health law work for Colorado, Gardner is showing that the only interests he’s looking out for are his own.”
The flap in January pivoted on the approaching March 31 deadline for open enrollment in Obamacare – a key wedge issue in political races in Colorado and nationwide. - Colorado Springs Independent, 5/8/14
If you want to donate and get involved with Udall's re-election bid, you can do so here:
http://markudall.com/