Recent reports show the bankers in charge of approving the foreclosure paperwork weren’t even reading what they were signing. Wall Street has bought and sold our mortgages so many times, they’ve lost track of who owns what. And now they’re getting caught red-handed. In one state, two banks tried to foreclose on the same home. In another state, Bank of America tried to take a house away from a man who’d never even had a mortgage. Continue reading “Where’s the Note: Is Your Mortgage Affected?”
On Language Access, Holding HHS Accountable to People, Not Insurance Companies
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is currently creating the regulations that basically put the meat on the bones of this country’s health care reform law. It is the outcome of these rule-making decisions that will determine the success, or failure, of reform. NWFCO, with the Health Rights Organizing Project, has been weighing in on key aspects of reform that have been prioritized by the communities with which we work. One key issue is addressing the linguistic barriers limited English proficient (LEP) people face when trying to access health insurance coverage and medical care in the current system.Continue reading “On Language Access, Holding HHS Accountable to People, Not Insurance Companies”
Getting Out the Latino Vote in the November Elections
A poll released on October 5th shows that while Democratic-leaning Latinos are not likely to vote with the Republican Party this November, they are also so disappointed with the current political climate that many of them might not participate in the upcoming elections at all (( New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/us/politics/06immig.html?_r=3&pagewanted=2)). According to the Pew Hispanic Center poll, only 51 percent of the Latino population who are registered to vote stated that they will go to the polls, compared to 70 percent of all registered voters in the U.S. (( Pew Hispanic: http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=127)) While Latinos continue to vote largely with the Democratic Party, it seems that this year they are disenchanted with the White House’s enforcement and stance on immigration reform.Continue reading “Getting Out the Latino Vote in the November Elections”
Building a National Movement Against The Big Banks: Organizing Underwater Homeowners
In September, NWFCO joined more than 230 people from around the country for the “Banking for a New Economy” Summit in Chicago, Illinois. We came together to build a national movement for bank accountability – reminding ourselves that the banks created the greatest economic crisis since the Depression, and now we have to make them fix it
At the summit, NWFCO’s Betsy Dillner talked to a group of grassroots leaders and organizers from across the country about our work in Washington state to organize “underwater homeowners” – those who owe more on their homes than their homes are currently worth. (When the big banks created a housing bubble and then crashed the economy, housing prices plummeted, leaving hundreds of thousands of people underwater.)Continue reading “Building a National Movement Against The Big Banks: Organizing Underwater Homeowners”
$75 Million: For the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, A Small Price to Pay for an Election
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been all over the airwaves recently–and not just with its hefty ad buys targeting candidates in the fast approaching November elections. Last week, the Chamber earned a wave of critical press when the story broke that it was funneling donations from international corporations and overseas affiliates into the same bank account used to fund its electioneering campaign ads ((http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/05/foreign-chamber-commerce/)).Continue reading “$75 Million: For the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, A Small Price to Pay for an Election”
HROP Members Tell HHS: “We’re Sick Of Not Being Heard”
Almost nine percent of people in the United States are of limited English proficiency. To understand and navigate their health insurance–and get the care they require–they need access to competent interpretation and translation. Access to such language services is a matter of civil rights and is currently under threat by new rules established by Health and Human Services. Upon learning the news last week, the Health Rights Organizing Project (HROP) sprung into action.Continue reading “HROP Members Tell HHS: “We’re Sick Of Not Being Heard””
NWFCO Affiliates Work for Fair Tax Reform
For nearly ten years, the wealthiest Americans have been getting a free ride in the form of tax cuts, tax breaks, and loopholes. This fall, Congress is expected to take up discussions around the Bush Tax Cuts and NWFCO affiliates in Montana, Oregon, and Washington are working with the Americans for Responsible Taxes to ensure that the current tax cuts for top 2% of Americans (individuals earning over $250,000 a year) expire, and that tax cuts for the middle class are made permanent.Continue reading “NWFCO Affiliates Work for Fair Tax Reform”
Small Business Owners Use Their Stories to Educate Public on Health Care Reform
September 23 was an important day for health care–and an important day for small businesses. Exactly six months after the enactment of the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (PPACA), September 23 was the date on which a range of new insurance protections took effect. Across the country, small business owners from The Main Street Alliance, NWFCO’s national alliance of state-based small business coalitions, took the opportunity to speak up about how the law will help them and their employees.Continue reading “Small Business Owners Use Their Stories to Educate Public on Health Care Reform”
Health Rights Organizing Project Members Work with HHS to Ensure Language Access
On Tuesday, September 14, NWFCO organized a meeting in Washington, D.C. with the Department of Health of Human Services to discuss the importance of language access in health care. Members from NWFCO and several organizations from the Health Rights Organizing Project, including Make the Road New York, The Community Service Society of New York, The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), and Washington Community Action Network, had the ear of many folks within HHS, including representatives from the Offices of Health Reform, Civil Rights, External Affairs, and Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.Continue reading “Health Rights Organizing Project Members Work with HHS to Ensure Language Access”
Maine Small Business Owners Discuss Expiring Bush-Era Tax Cuts
Early on a Friday morning in September, before setting off on their usual daily tasks, three business owners, all members of the Maine Small Business Coalition, gathered in a cluttered corner of an antiquarian bookstore in Bangor, Maine. Rick Schweikart, Bill Lippincott, and Suzanne Kelly, accompanied by the Chair of the Appropriations Committee in the State House of Representatives, Emily Cain, had come together to discuss a hot button political issue: the Bush-era tax cuts.Continue reading “Maine Small Business Owners Discuss Expiring Bush-Era Tax Cuts”