Congress Finds a Lost Art —The Possible

I’ve written before about how this Congress seems to have started to move past the intensely bitter ideological battles that marked much of the past three years. Another sign of that came this week as the GOP-controlled House and the Democrat-led Senate approved a one-year extension of the nation’s borrowing authority, otherwise known at the debt limit. What made this event so newsworthy wasn’t the passage of the legislation, but rather what didn’t happen.

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Local Goodwills Reduce Energy Use, Return Money to Mission

Goodwill Industries International has organized a new Energy Challenge among its members, running from July 2013-June 2014. Forty-seven Goodwill agencies are currently working to reduce their energy consumption and related costs, benchmarking data for more than 700 Goodwill facilities. Read on to learn about some of the benefits that the early adopters of the challenge reaped.

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My Story – Carol Newberry

After a 11-year career with Goodwill, Carol took some time off following the unexpected death of her husband. Goodwill later welcomed her back and she now works as a vocational evaluator / case manager, where she helps people learn about their skills and re-enter the workforce. "I firmly believe that each and every one of us understands Goodwill’s mission, and that we live it each and every day," she says.

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Congress Passes Farm Bill – SNAP Cuts Minimized

After years of wrangling capped by a surprise defeat last year in the House, Congress finally mustered the votes to clear a five-year reauthorization of the farm bill. The bill includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. Under the bill, funding for SNAP would be cut by $8 billion over the next decade. The cuts are slightly higher than the $4 billion reduction in the original Senate farm bill but far less than the $40 billion reduction advocated by House Republicans.

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