The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

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Protecting All Against Violence. A coalition of leading national Latino organizations is calling for the House of Representatives to pass a Violence Against Women Act that protects vulnerable communities, particularly immigrant women. “As representatives of the broad and diverse communities of Latinos in the United States, we are deeply concerned that the House of Representatives has abandoned vulnerable communities in the Violence Against Women Act,” said the groups in a joint statement. “The House bill jeopardizes immigrant victims’ continued access to the legal protections they need to escape their abusers, pursue justice, and build stable lives free from violence.”

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Report: A Strong Economy through Shared Prosperity. Policies that promote job growth, economic security, and democracy are the foundation for an economy that will benefit all, according to a new independent report by Professor Jacob Hacker and Nathaniel Loewentheil of Yale University. The report was released Tuesday at an event hosted by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C.

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"A Huge Mistake." The House of Representatives’ vote this week to extend Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans was “a huge mistake,” said Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference. “We simply cannot afford to continue providing fiscally irresponsible tax breaks for the richest Americans that hamper our ability to address critical national priorities like education, health care, job training, infrastructure, scientific research, public safety and law enforcement, housing, and social services.”

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Report Exposes For-Profit Colleges. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights this week called for Congressional action in response to the findings of the Senate HELP Committee’s two-year investigation of the for-profit college industry, which reveals a culture rife with misleading recruitment tactics, overpaid CEOs, poor student outcomes, a lack of accountability, and widespread exploitation of students and taxpayer funds. “This report underscores how urgently Congress must step up and hold the for-profit college industry accountable for its widespread exploitation of students and taxpayers,” said Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference. With $32 billion in taxpayer support, these schools have “amassed unimaginable levels of profit” while “exploiting those who most need degrees: low-income people, single mothers, people of color, and veterans,” Zirkin added.

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Race and Voter ID. A new study by the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication found that people expressing racial resentments toward African Americans tended to show more support for voter ID laws. Hilary Shelton, the NAACP’s Washington bureau director and senior vice president for policy and advocacy, told Afro news that” [i]t’s not surprising” given that “[a]ll data indicates that minority voters are disproportionately impacted.” Shelton also noted that “25 percent of all voting age African Americans do not have an ID to vote under these new stringent voter ID laws.”

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