It’s understandable that state Sen. Jean Schodorf, R-Wichita, walked out of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday. A bill to prevent public employees from using even voluntary payroll deductions to donate to a union’s political action committee is a transparent attempt to weaken unions politically. Claims by those who offered testimony in support of the bill — notably only Americans for Prosperity and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce — about needing to protect freedom don’t wash. Kansas is already a right-to-work state. No worker can be compelled to join a union, and union dues can’t be used to support political activity. Separate donations to political action committees are also voluntary. “I find this bill highly offensive to working people,” Schodorf said.
President Obama countered GOP claims that his administration has blocked new oil production by noting that “last year, American oil production reached its highest level since 2003.” Though that is true, that increase had little to do with administration policy, the Washington Post reported. Rather, the increase is because oil companies have figured out how to extract oil from shale fields in North Dakota and other states. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers have no basis for claiming that the Environmental Protection Agency is driving up gas prices, PolitiFact determined.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the war in Afghanistan is no longer worth fighting, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Nearly three-quarters of Americans say President Obama should withdraw a “substantial number” of combat troops from Afghanistan this summer, the deadline he set to begin pulling out some forces.
It’s understandable that state Sen. Jean Schodorf, R-Wichita, walked out of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday. A bill to prevent public employees from using even voluntary payroll deductions to donate to a union’s political action committee is a transparent attempt to weaken unions politically. Claims by those who offered testimony in support of the bill — notably only Americans for Prosperity and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce — about needing to protect freedom don’t wash. Kansas is already a right-to-work state. No worker can be compelled to join a union, and union dues can’t be used to support political activity. Separate donations to political action committees are also voluntary. “I find this bill highly offensive to working people,” Schodorf said.
