By Jarrod Walley |Staff Writer| Betsy DeVos awaits official confirmation on Monday, Feb 6. from the Senate for the position of Secretary of Education after the Senate Committee voted her through. The voting for DeVos’ confirmation in the Senate Committee was broadcast live through the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN). It took place Tuesday, Jan. 31, after an introduction and opening statement from the chairman of the committee, Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander. Each senator in the committee cast his or her vote for DeVos. The results were 12 votes in favor and 11 votes against. Chairman Alexander had the deciding vote to put DeVos through. Much like the committee, … [Read more...] about Betsy DeVos awaits Senate Confirmation
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Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education nominee
By Jarrod Walley |Staff Writer| The Senate committee decision for Betsy DeVos's nomination for Secretary of Education was postponed to Jan. 31, after troublesome hearing for her confirmation. The hearing for DeVos took place last Tuesday, Jan. 17, before the Senate committee regarding her nomination for Secretary of Education. It was televised and also made available online by Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN). The Secretary of Education is responsible for—among with other duties—overseeing educational policies, managing Federal Aid banks and distributing millions in Pell Grants. All of these are directly related to federally-funded schools, including CSUSB. There … [Read more...] about Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education nominee
Cybersecurity bill passed
By Marco Montoya |Staff Writer| The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) was passed on Oct. 27. CISA was passed by the senate despite opposition from many big tech companies, privacy activists and even some lawmakers, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. This bill allegedly will make it easier for companies that feel victimized by high profile hacking to report the incident to the government and will protect them from lawsuits. The bill will make information on cyber attacks available for government access, which was previously considered private. Although the bill has a large group opposed to it, it is supported by the White House, … [Read more...] about Cybersecurity bill passed
NSA now can’t spy on you
By Jorge Campos |Staff Writer| The House of Representatives passed the USA Freedom Act to end the National Security Agency’s (NSA) cellular spying program. The American spying program automatically collects and records people’s phone information and was ruled illegal on Thursday, May 7. Congress will now have to immediately decide whether or not to end or replace the controversial anti-terrorist surveillance system, according to The Telegraph. The bill passed with a vote of 388-88, putting an end to the government’s collection of phone records, according to wired.com. However, the USA Freedom Act, which will stop the NSA from acquiring access to this information, is not in the … [Read more...] about NSA now can’t spy on you
SB 277 makes vaccinations mandatory
By Cherae Hunt |Staff Writer| California grade school children must now be vaccinated to attend class as a result of an amended bill. “Since 2000, 142 Californians have suffered severe adverse reactions, resulting in 46 deaths of California citizens. Children under the age of 11 months suffered 52.82 percent of these adverse reactions,” according to sb277.org. The lawmakers passed the Bill on the vaccine SB 277 on April 22, 2015 by a 7-2 vote. “Following a measles outbreak that began in mid-December at Disneyland -- which state public health officials attribute in large part to unvaccinated individuals -- California State Sen. Richard Pan and two other lawmakers introduced SB 277 … [Read more...] about SB 277 makes vaccinations mandatory
Government back open for business
By Daniel DeMarco |Staff Writer| On Oct. 16, 2013, President Barack Obama signed a deal passed by Congress, ending the partial government shutdown. Cutting it very close, Obama officially signed the deal around 9:30 p.m. the night before the country lost its ability to continue borrowing money. The deal was originally negotiated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat leader for Nevada) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican leader for Kentucky). Both the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the plan. According to Aljazeera, the Senate passed the deal by 81 votes to 18 and the House passed it, … [Read more...] about Government back open for business
Senate Bill seeks to limit CSU president salaries
By Melissa Benton |Staff Writer| Senate Bill 755, introduced by Senator Ted W. Lieu, would limit CSU president salaries to 150 percent of the salary of California’s Chief Justice. According to the National Center for State Courts, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye currently earns $228,856. This means that CSU presidents could earn up to $343,269. SB 755 would require that the CSU Board of Trustees discuss tuition or salary increases in an open session. It also would stop pay increases or bonuses to campus presidents if student tuition was raised in the last three years. This change to the bill was introduced because of San Diego State University (SDSU) which received a new … [Read more...] about Senate Bill seeks to limit CSU president salaries
Debt ceiling rises on Capitol Hill
By Eric Brown |Managing Editor| After arduous debate in both houses of Congress, the Senate gave final approval to legislation to raise the nation's debt by $2.4 trillion in conjunction with cutting federal deficits. Having already passed Monday through the House, President Barack Obama is likely to sign the bill into law wiftly after months of debate have stalemated many efforts in Washington to move further in economic recover. As the trenches of partisan gridlock were dug, Obama and House Speaker John Boehner both proved unlikely allies in a hotly debated topic. While GOP and Tea Party hardliners apposed any raise in the debt-ceiling, Democrats and progress oriented Republicans … [Read more...] about Debt ceiling rises on Capitol Hill