WASHINGTON — Progressive lawmakers Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) teamed up on Thursday to introduce legislation designed to stop subsidies to the oil, coal and natural gas industries, preserving an estimated $110 billion over the next ten years.

The measure, End Polluter Welfare Act, would do away with tax breaks, financial assistance, royalty relief, direct federal research and development and many loopholes that benefit the fossil fuel industry — coal, oil, and natural gas — according to the bill’s authors. It has the backing of numerous groups, including Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense and 350.org, which has vowed to campaign on Capitol Hill in support of the legislation.

“If we confine this effort to Capitol Hill, the fossil fuel industry will just drown us in dollars — they could spend $100 billion fighting this thing and still come out on top,” said 350.org Executive Director May Boeve in a Thursday statement. “So we’re going to take this fight to districts around the country and find other currencies to work in: our creativity, energy and grassroots organizing power.”

The Yale Project on Climate Change has reported that as of November 2011, 70 percent of Americans opposed federal subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, including majorities of both Republicans and Independents.

“Our legislation is the most comprehensive ever introduced,” said Sanders at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “It ends all tax breaks, special financing arrangements and federal research and development funding. We ensure that never again can a company like BP take a tax deduction for money spent cleaning up its own mess in the Gulf of Mexico,” he added, “and we close the loophole that lets tar sands oil pipeline operators avoid paying the oil spill clean-up tax.”

350.org, the green advocacy group founded by author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, has launched a signature drive for voters who wish to pressure congressional representatives to support the bill.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the May Day parade! We had a great group of over 40 community members marching in support of our progressive values. If you want to join Keith in future parades, sign up at www.keithellison.org/volunteer.

Check out pictures of Keith and the campaign in the May Day parade:

Today, Keith introduced the End Polluter Welfare Act to stop taxpayer handouts for oil, coal, and natural gas production. This legislation will save taxpayers over $100 billion that we can invest in middle class families.

Do you want to cut taxpayer subsidies for oil, coal, and natural gas production? Get started by signing our petition.

Check out this note from Keith on how Minnesota can be the first state in America to defeat an anti-marriage ballot measure:

Yesterday, North Carolina approved an amendment to their state constitution that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. As I’m sure you’re well aware, Minnesota is facing a similar constitutional amendment.

We have the opportunity to be the first state in America to reject this kind of divisive, hateful measure. Will you take action right now and pledge to vote no on the anti-marriage amendment?

As we see more and more state legislatures taking action to extend civil rights to same-sex couples, it’s clear that we’ve got momentum on our side. A victory in Minnesota this November could have national implications and spark action around the country.

Let’s show America that Minnesotans believe that everybody counts and everybody matters–regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Sign our petition right now so we can unite all Minnesota families.

-Keith

P.S. Government shouldn’t be in the business of telling Americans who they can and cannot love. Sign our petition today and show your support for all Minnesota families.

Show your support for Minnesota’s Senators. Join Keith to wish Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar a happy birthday by signing our card!

Originally published in the Star Tribune:

After three stalled diplomatic attempts to stop Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government from killing thousands of unarmed civilians, it’s time for the international community to intervene. The United States should partner with its allies to establish safe zones on the borders of countries neighboring Syria.

Since popular demonstrations began more than a year ago, Syria’s democracy movement has evolved into a national uprising. Like their counterparts in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, Syrians took to the streets to demand political reforms. In response, the Assad regime has offered lip service to reform but in fact has confronted peaceful protesters with military force and a campaign of atrocities.

After shelling entire neighborhoods to rubble, the regime has blocked humanitarian aid from reaching injured civilians. Doctors and nurses who try to administer aid have been targeted. Tens of thousands are suffering. The United Nations estimates that as many as 17,000 Syrians have been killed during the 14-month uprising.

The international community is facing a crisis reminiscent of Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. We must confront ourselves, take stock of our values and decide how we will respond. Addressing this crisis will require coordinated action and a strong commitment from many nations, but leadership from the United States is essential.

The international community has a responsibility to protect innocent populations from mass atrocities when repeated diplomatic efforts fail. We committed ourselves to this principle at the United Nations World Summit in 2005 with the Responsibility to Protect initiative.

Several nations, including the United States, decided they would not stand by whenever war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing or genocide are perpetrated, or when despotic government leaders decimate their country’s population.

U.N. Special Envoy Kofi Annan’s proposal is meeting resistance, and even U.N. officials have acknowledged that the first group of observers has not stopped the killing. Activists on the ground estimate that 500 people have been killed since the negotiated U.N. “cease-fire” was enacted April 12. The Assad regime has shown no regard for prior agreements. Still, the international community should hold Assad to his commitment and accelerate the dispatch of all 300 U.N. observers.

Even as the United States supports the U.N. plan, we must take additional steps to address the humanitarian crisis. Turkey has discussed creating protected safe zones within its borders. We should encourage these efforts and commit our support.

We should also be prepared for the possibility of Turkey invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty, since the Syrian army has fired into Turkish territory. Establishing safe zones in Turkey or another country on Syria’s border will allow international partners to administer humanitarian relief and better organize the inflow of Syrian refugees.

Taking these steps would put Bashar Assad on notice that the international community will not allow him to repeat his father’s brutality. In 1982, Hafez Assad, presided over the slaughter of 20,000 people in Hama, Syria. The United States has acted in the past to prevent similar humanitarian crises, but sometimes too late.

We hesitated in Bosnia and Rwanda and regretted it when hundreds of thousands died, were maimed, tortured or raped. But we acted wisely in Libya, prevented a massacre, and maintained the democratic momentum of the Arab Spring — until now.

It is true that establishing a safe zone on the border of Syria involves significant risk. What if the Syrian army targets the safe zone? What if Assad blocks refugees’ access to it? How long should the safe zone exist? And who will pay for it?

These are questions we must seriously consider. But they should not chill us into inaction. The United States must lead the international community in establishing safe zones to protect innocent Syrian civilians and send a clear message to Assad: the killing has to stop.

One thing is clear: Assad has proven himself to be a merciless butcher who will kill and murder and torture as long as we let him.

No more Bosnias, Darfurs and Rwandas. It’s time for the world to act.

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Keith Ellison, a Democrat, represents Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House.

Do you want to get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan? Get started by signing our petition.

Via CNN:

Watch Keith’s interview with John King on getting U.S. troops out of Afghanistan:

Do you agree that we should get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan? Get started by signing our petition.

Originally published on CNN:

Editor’s note: Keith Ellison is a Democratic member of Congress from Minnesota’s 5th District and co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

(CNN) — One year ago, the enemy that had haunted America for nearly a decade met his end in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to the United States because of President Obama’s leadership and strong national security policies. Good intelligence practices and surgical counterterrorism operations enabled us to kill 20 of al Qaeda’s top 30 leaders, including bin Laden. This is an accomplishment by any measure.

We have diminished al Qaeda’s strength, so for the sake of our economic and national security, we should decrease our military presence and bring our troops home from Afghanistan as soon as is safely possible.

The American people agree. According to the latest New York Times/CBS poll, more than two-thirds of Americans think that the United States should no longer be at war in Afghanistan.

The president’s plan started by withdrawing 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan between June and December 2011. The 33,000 “surge” troops assigned in 2009 are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by this summer. We will continue the troop drawdown until 2014 when, if all goes according to plan, a strengthened Afghan force and NATO troops will maintain peace.

But with our core mission of decimating al Qaeda in Afghanistan accomplished, is the continuing military presence until 2014 worth the cost? More than 1,900 Americans have died in Afghanistan, and more than 15,000 have been wounded. Attacks with improvised explosive devices increased last year and have caused a surge in double amputees. A recent study found that one in four Afghanistan and Iraq veterans were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder between 2004 and 2009.

Unlike the United States’ adversaries of the 20th century, al Qaeda is a mobile force that is not confined by borders. According to CIA reports, in 2010 there were fewer than 100 al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan. Clearly this small number does not warrant our large-scale troop presence there, which peaked at 100,000 last year.

The justification that we should stay in Afghanistan to prevent al Qaeda’s return is unconvincing. Al Qaeda operates in lawless states, such as Yemen and Somalia, with relative ease. But it makes no sense to put tens of thousands of boots on the ground in those countries. Since our enemy is not limited by borders, why do we continue to put the lives of our brave troops at risk and spend billions of taxpayer dollars to secure one country?

Communities nationwide feel the financial effects of keeping our troops in Afghanistan. Republicans are demanding drastic domestic spending cuts that are hurting people here at home. At the same time, the proposed budget for the war in Afghanistan for 2013 is $88 billion. The annual cost to support one U.S. soldier in Afghanistan is more than $1 million, according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. That figure would employ about 35 Americans here at home through federal infrastructure spending.

Instead of spending billions on a war that is not making us safer, we could better advance U.S. national security by providing greater support to people in Middle Eastern countries fighting for freedom and democracy.

Supporting their democratic aspirations and protecting their human rights, not just with words but also through bold actions, is the surest way to turn back anti-Americanism and terrorism in the region.

Congress should support President Obama in making these changes.

-Written by Congressman Keith Ellison

Via Minnesota Women’s Press:

When Rep. Ellison says, “Everybody counts, everybody matters,” it’s more than a slogan. He’s a champion for underrepresented voices. The Minneapolis congressman helped author the Local Jobs for America Act to create 1 million public jobs. He has championed legislation to keep roofs over the heads of our most vulnerable citizens-seniors, disabled and low-income Americans. He supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to protect employees from discrimination based on their real or perceived sexual orientation.

The attacks keep coming. Read Keith’s latest note on the GOP’s ongoing smear campaign:

Dozens have stepped up to defend our progressive values from the radical right’s ongoing smear campaign, but we still need to close the gap. We need to raise just $1,325 more before the end of the month to hit our goal.

Can you chip in $5 or more right now to help me fight the GOP’s smears?

My Republican opponent recently said this about me and you:

“My campaign for Congress is designed to reach out to all those who have been let down and under-served by folks like Keith Ellison…the Democratic Party has once again lost their soul because they aren’t standing up for people. They side with the special interest and big money players for the sake of staying office. At the head of their party is a President flanked by loyal puppets like Keith Ellison.”

While my opponent is busy calling you names like “big money player,” I’m focused on organizing Americans around our values so we can take back the House from extremists like Tea Party Rep. Allen West (who recently called me a “communist”). With the right people in office, we can advance our progressive agenda and create jobs, invest in our children’s future, and make sure we have tax fairness for all Americans.

Click here and chip in $5 or more right now so we have the resources to defend our progressive values from the GOP’s smear campaign.

-Keith

P.S. The only special interest I’m looking out for is middle class and working families. Just yesterday, I brought people from all backgrounds together for a hearing to highlight the ongoing foreclosure crisis—because Americans need solutions, not smears. Send our opponent a message by chipping in $5 or more today.