Two Bay Area members of Congress used the Constitution’s birthday today as an occasion to decry voter ID laws – which they call voter-suppression efforts – in some crucial presidential swing states.

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, issued a statement noting that the U.S. Constitution, at 225 years old, “is the most enduring government charter in world history.” It laid out our national ideals including the right to vote, and that right has been expanded and protected since then, he wrote.

“Unfortunately, voting rights are now at risk due to a series of discriminatory and restrictive voter identification laws enacted at the state level,” Stark said. “If these un-American laws stand, they will impede the democratic process and prevent many Americans from exercising their fundamental right to vote.”

Republican-led legislatures in more than a dozen states have enacted strict new voter ID laws since 2008, claiming they’ll crack down on fraud; Democrats say the laws aim to keep millions of minority, elderly, poor and other voters from casting ballots.

Stark said he’s a proud cosponsor of HR 5799, the “Voter Empowerment Act of 2012” by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., which he said “would protect voters’ rights and ensure the integrity of our electoral system. I will continue fighting to protect the right to vote and work to ensure that all eligible citizens are able to participate in our democracy.”

HR 5799 among other things requires states to offer online voter registration; promotes same-day registration; creates requirements for states to promote registration and voting access for the disabled; and prohibits state and local officials from preventing a person from registering or voting in any federal election, or from allowing certain kinds of formal challenges to someone’s registration or eligibility to vote.

Also among that bill’s 140 cosponsors is Rep. Mike Honda, D-Campbell, who had an op-ed piece published today on the Huffington Post and The Hill taking Republicans to task for attacking constitutional voting rights.

“The Republican attacks on these amendments, and their attacks on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, aim to cut the legs of citizenship from beneath us. Republicans are prohibiting access to the ballot for minorities, the elderly and young people who have been, and continue to be, historically disenfranchised,” Honda wrote. “We have fought these fights before, and it’s shameful that we have to still fight for these rights today. But fight we will. If we can vote, then we must register. If we can share time, then we must volunteer. If you believe in preserving access to our democracy, then we must speak out.”

Congress and state lawmakers should be educating citizens “instead of road blocking citizenship rights for which thousands have fought and died. We must be educating on pathways to citizenship, not restricting individuals from access to our democracy. Early voting, absentee ballots and in-language assistance are all key pillars of voting, and it is unfortunate that Democrats have to fight tooth and nail to retain them.”

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, and his Democratic challenger, Alameda County prosecutor and Dublin Councilman Eric Swalwell, have written to seek a local Democratic club’s support, and their requests very neatly encapsulate what their respective campaigns are all about.

The Alameda County Democratic Lawyers Club meets Friday in Oakland to decide its endorsements. Stark’s letter to club, dated Tuesday, notes he has “enjoyed a long and beneficial relationship with the legal community in Alameda County and worked with you to protect consumers, homeowners and tenants, patients, children with special educational needs, workers, women, and our environment.”

After rattling off some names from his list of endorsements, Stark, 80, noted he “worked with the Obama Administration to craft the Affordable Care Act, and with prior Administrations to create COBRA and ensure care is not denied at emergency rooms. As we fight increasingly deceptive attacks against Medicare and Social Security, I am committed to using my experience and seniority to protect benefits people have paid for, and prevent insurance companies and Wall Street from taking over Medicare and Social Security.”

Swalwell, 31, received the club’s primary-election endorsement, and in seeking it again today he played up his prosecution of hundreds of cases with the Alameda County District Attorney’s office.

“Congress is a mess. And, we have a Congressman representing us who does not live here – he lives in Maryland – and does not vote there, in Washington, DC – he has one of the worst career voting records of any Member of Congress. I think you deserve better. And, so do the voters,” Swalwell wrote. “In Congress, I promise to bring new energy to Congress and show up to work every day. I will fight for our Democratic principles and will never take my constituents for granted.”

UPDATE @ 12:10 P.M. SATURDAY: Though it had endorsed Swalwell before the June primary, the club chose Friday to endorse neither candidate now. Only Swalwell had attended the club’s endorsement meeting in May; both Stark and Swalwell attended Friday’s meeting.

Read the two letters in their entireties, after the jump…
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Former state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, today announced he’s endorsing Dublin councilman and Alameda County prosecutor Eric Swalwell in his campaign to unseat Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont.

“It is time for new energy and true leadership from the next Representative in Congress for the 15th District, and Eric Swalwell is the right person for the job,” Perata said in a news release.

Swalwell, in the same release, said Perata “is known for getting results and I admire that. I respect his willingness to work across the aisle to get things done for his constituents and the State, most notably when he worked with then-Governor Schwarzenegger to place and successfully campaign for five infrastructure bond measures on the ballot in 2006 to improve roads and mass transit, build more affordable housing, repair levees, and upgrade educational facilities.”

Perata is a longtime East Bay political figure who always has been tight with the organized labor community, and so his endorsement of Swalwell might mark a chink in the union armor Stark has tried to don (pun intended) since June’s primary election – most notably with his hiring of former Alameda Labor Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Sharon Cornu to run his campaign.

Perata’s endorsement of Swalwell comes about a week after that of former Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, D-Newark, who reportedly got quite an earful from Stark about it. Maybe Perata should screen his calls for a while.

And he might not be the only one. Rumor has it another influential and labor-friendly politician from the East Bay – this one still in statewide office – is about to give a dual endorsement in this race. Stand by for more info on that…

UPDATE @ 6:16 P.M.: It’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

“We need a leader in Congress who understands the immediate need to support our education system and to invest in our public school students so they are ready for the jobs of the future. We need to empower educators to teach not to tests, but to individual needs,” Torlakson said in a statement emailed this evening. “I see Eric as a tireless advocate for our children in Congress. I look forward to having him as a partner at the federal level committed to delivering our children a high-quality 21st Century education.”

Torlakson already had endorsed Stark earlier; Stark still has way more endorsements from public officials and unions than Swalwell.

To me, getting a dual endorsement is a little like kissing your sister – a tie nobody wants, about as useful as staying out of it completely and giving no endorsement at all. That said, Torlakson is a longtime East Bay Democratic player who has worked closely with labor unions and won a statewide campaign, and the fact that he’s not standing solely by Stark in this race probably says something.

I managed to get Torlakson on the phone a few minutes ago to clarify why he added this endorsement. He said he’s seen Swalwell’s “depth of knowledge and energy to tackle the issues that will support our schools and children … emerge as the campaign has gone forward.”

Asked whether he would consider helping out with fundraising or campaign appearances for either campaign, he replied, “It remains to be seen, I haven’t been asked.” Pressed on whether he would do so for one campaign over the other, he replied, “We’ll see as it moves along.”

Rep. George Miller led more than 100 House Democrats today in introducing a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $9.80 per hour.

The minimum wage was last increased in 2009, but this would be the first increase for tipped-workers in 21 years. U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is expected to introduce companion legislation today.

“Raising the minimum wage at its core is about respecting and valuing work. No one who works hard every day and plays by the rules should live in poverty,” said Miller, D-Martinez, the House Education and the Workforce Committee’s ranking Democrat.

“Increasing workers’ paychecks will help millions of working families make ends meet and help the nation’s economy grow,” he said in a news release. “It is time for Congress to stand up for working people for a change and for Washington Republicans to stop using their position in Congress only to benefit wealthy special interests. They should join Democrats in ensuring a well-deserved raise for millions of honest, hardworking Americans.”

Miller was the House author of the 2007 bill that increased the minimum wage to $7.25 following 10 years without any increases.

Miller’s new H.R. 6211, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012, would increase the minimum wage in three 85-cent steps, over three years, from $7.25 to $9.80 per hour; after that, the rate would then be indexed to inflation each year. The bill also would increase the required cash wage for tipped workers in annual 85 cent increases, from today’s $2.13 per hour until the tip credit reaches 70 percent of the regular minimum wage.

Among the bill’s 104 original cosponsors are Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland; Pete Stark, D-Fremont; Mike Honda, D-Campbell; Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose; Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto; and Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma.

Expect this to be dead on arrival in the Republican-run House; many conservatives believe requiring employers to pay higher minimum wages makes them less likely to hire or retain less-skilled workers, thus increasing unemployment.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in January said his preference would be “to allow the minimum wage to rise with the CPI or with another index so it adjusts automatically over time” – much as these Democrats are now proposing after the initial three-step, three-year increase. He seemed to walk that statement back a bit in March, when he said he favors reviewing the minimum wage periodically but there’s “probably not a need to raise” it now.

Rep. Pete Stark is helping to leading House members from both sides of the aisle in a hearty chant of “USA, USA, USA” over the issue of where U.S. Olympians’ uniforms should be made.

Stark, D-Fremont, along with Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Me., led 59 members in sending a letter to the U.S. Olympic Committee today urging that Team USA’s uniforms be made in the United States from now on. This year, the athletes’ couture was designed by Ralph Lauren – an American-based company – but manufactured in China.

“We don’t outsource the athletes who represent the United States in the Olympics and we shouldn’t outsource the manufacturing of Team USA’s uniforms,” Stark said in a news release. “The fact that our American uniforms were made in China is a glaring reminder that we’ve gotten away from a core value: our country’s success is built on the innovation and industriousness of the American worker. When we deviate from that, we fail. That is why we’re calling on the U.S. Olympic Committee to reflect these values and ensure that Team USA’s uniforms are made in America.”

The letter is supported by the AFL-CIO and the National Council of Textile Organizations. Among House members signing the letter were Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland; Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez; Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa; and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma.

But it seems the lawmakers’ request was already granted before the letter was sent.

U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun issued a statement Friday saying his organization takes seriously the concerns it has heard from Congress and the public.

“With athletes having already arrived in London, and the apparel distribution process beginning this weekend, we are unfortunately not able to make a change for London,” he said. “We are absolutely committed, however, to working with our sponsors to ensure that the concerns voiced are addressed. To that end, Ralph Lauren has agreed to domestically manufacture Team USA’s apparel for Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.”

UPDATE @ 2:44 P.M.: This just in from Stark’s Twitter account: “We’re calling on USOC to implement Make it in the USA policy. USOC’s Friday statement doesn’t reflect policy change”

Former Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, has endorsed Dublin councilman and Alameda County prosecutor Eric Swalwell – her former intern – in his bid to unseat her longtime colleague, Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont.

“Eric represents the best and brightest in the next generation of leadership needed in Congress,” Tauscher said in Swalwell’s news release. “Eric understands the importance of Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories to our national defense and energy security and the unique role they play in the research and development of cutting-edge technologies that are important to the local economy.”

Tauscher represented parts of what’s now the 15th Congressional District, including the Tri-Valley and Castro Valley, during her more than twelve years in Congress. She was unanimously confirmed as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security in 2009, where she served until February. She’s now a State Department special envoy on strategic stability and missile defense issues.

“I have known Eric since he interned in my Congressional office in 2001 and watched as he worked his way through college and embarked on a career in law,” she said. “Eric is an incredibly hard worker and I know he will be an effective and conscientious Representative for the constituents in the new 15th Congressional District.”

Swalwell said he’s honored by the endorsement and hopes to emulate Tauscher’s attentiveness to her constituents and hard work on their behalf.

Swalwell earlier this week announced his dual endorsement by Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who earlier had endorsed Stark.

Right after news of Rep. Pete Stark’s campaign staff shakeup came news of a prominent, albeit not unexpected, endorsement: U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

“We need Pete Stark in Washington to continue defending Social Security, Medicare, and creating jobs in technology and manufacturing. President Obama and I endorse him based on his years of service and leadership,” Feinstein said in a news release issued by Stark’s campaign.

Stark, D-Fremont, is also opening a new campaign office in Dublin – the home turf of his challenger, Dublin councilman and Alameda County prosecutor Eric Swalwell, also a Democrat. In fact, Stark’s campaign office will be in the same union hall in which the TriValley Democratic Club – of which Swalwell is a longtime member – meets.

But Stark didn’t exactly cover himself in glory while taking questions at an event today in Union City – before he could be ushered away, he said he won’t debate Swalwell because he’d probably get the same “stupid” questions reporters were asking him there. The Chronicle’s Carla Marinucci has the story and video.

A union heavyweight has signed on to manage Rep. Pete Stark’s re-election campaign as part of a post-primary staffing shakeup.

Sharon Cornu said Monday she has signed onto the effort to help Stark, D-Fremont, win a 21st term in Congress in the newly drawn 15th Congressional District. Stark is challenged by Dublin councilman and Alameda County prosecutor Eric Swalwell, also a Democrat.

Cornu, 53, of Oakland, served as executive secretary-treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council for almost eight years, with a leave of absence for seven months in 2010 to work as national field director for the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C. She went to work for Oakland Mayor Jean Quan in January 2011 as a senior policy advisor and in April 2011 as deputy mayor, but resigned from Quan’s administration in November.

Also joining Team Stark is Michael Terris of San Francisco, who will serve as a general consultant. Cornu said Terris got his start in politics as an intern in Stark’s office in 1982, researching Social Security, Medicare and education issues.

Alex Tourk, who had run Stark’s primary campaign, is out of the picture. “Alex Tourk and the congressman made a mutual decision, and the congressman is very grateful for Alex’s help in the primary,” Cornu said Monday.

Stark hasn’t had any problems winning re-election in recent decades, but Swalwell came into the race counting on redistricting – which is forcing Stark to campaign on the east side of the East Bay hills, Swalwell’s home turf – and the top-two primary to buoy his challenge. Stark himself went a long way toward boosting Swalwell’s campaign by making a series of erratic, unfounded allegations this spring against Swalwell and others.

UPDATE @ 3:16 P.M.: Another sign of the increased labor focus of Stark’s re-election effort might be tomorrow’s news conference at Tri-CED Community Recycling in Union City, where Stark will be joined by current Alameda Labor Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Josie Camacho; Tri-CED CEO and newly appointed Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle; and local workers. Stark will be highlighting the Bring Jobs Home Act, HR 5542, for which he’s among 36 co-sponsors; the event is part of the AFL-CIO’s Bring Jobs Home campaign. Supporters say the bill would eliminate tax incentives for businesses that send jobs overseas and reward companies that bring jobs back to the U.S.

The House voted 255-67 today to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for allegedly stonewalling over documents relating to the probe of the Fast and Furious “gunwalking” operation on the U.S.-Mexico border.

But more than 100 Democrats left the House floor to boycott the vote, including several Bay Area lawmakers: Barbara Lee, D-Oakland; Pete Stark, D-Fremont; Mike Honda, D-San Jose; Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma; John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove; and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco.

“I cannot and will not participate in this hyper-partisan and purely political vote today to hold Attorney General in contempt of Congress,” Lee said in a news release.

“Contempt power should be used sparingly, carefully and only in the most egregious situations. The Attorney General has gone above and beyond in his response to request for information on “Fast and Furious”, an unfortunate operation that began under the Bush Administration and, in fact, was terminated by Attorney General Holder,” she said. “This contempt vote is unprecedented, unwarranted and entirely unnecessary. Gandhi once said that ‘Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good.’ That is why I am standing with so many of my colleagues in refusing to participate in this shameful Republican political stunt.”

Reps. George Miller, D-Martinez; Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton; Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough; Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto; Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose; and Mike Thompson, D-Napa remained on the floor to cast votes against the resolution.

Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called for the vote with this statement:

“It’s important for the American people to know how we got here and to know the facts of this case. The Congress asked the Department of Justice for the facts related to Fast and Furious and the events that led to the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The Department of Justice did not provide the facts and the information that we requested. Instead, the information came from people outside the Department, people who wanted to do the right thing. In addition to not providing the information, the Administration admitted to misleading Congress, actually retracting a letter it had sent 10 months earlier.

“I think all the Members understand this is a very serious matter. The Terry family wants to know how this happened and they have every right to have their answers. The House needs to know how this happened, and it is our constitutional duty to find out. So the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee issued a lawful and narrowly tailored subpoena. We’ve been patient, giving the Justice Department every opportunity to comply, so that we can get to the bottom of this for the Terry family. We’ve shown more than enough good faith, but the White House has chosen to invoke executive privilege. That leaves us no other options. The only recourse left for the House is to continue seeking the truth and to hold Attorney General in contempt of Congress.

“Now I don’t take this matter lightly, and I frankly hoped it would never come to this. The House’s focus is on jobs and on the economy. But no Justice Department is above the law and no Justice Department is above the Constitution, which each of us has sworn an oath to uphold. So I ask the Members of this body to come together and to support this resolution so that we can seek the answers that the Terry family and the American people deserve.”

After the vote, Holder issued a statement which is presented in its entirety after the jump…
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Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, today has launched a bipartisan Anti-Bullying Caucus in Congress.

Also included among the caucus’ 41 initial members are representatives Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and Pete Stark, D-Fremont.

“The health, safety, competitiveness and moral fiber of America is threatened by a bullying epidemic that affects more than 13 million children each year,” Honda said in a news release. “As an educator of 30 years and a member of Congress who was bullied as a child, I have formed the Anti-Bullying Caucus to empower each constituency in the anti-bullying movement, including but not limited to youth, seniors, religious communities and LGBT-identifying individuals. The Anti-Bullying Caucus seeks to focus the energy and effort of the movement to forge a path forward to stop bullying — both offline and online.”

The caucus’ mission statement says it’s committed to uncovering all forms of bullying, from school bullying to elder abuse to LGBT discrimination, and making it possible for victims of bullying to come forward; protecting all individuals that are victims of any and all forms of bullying; and preventing bullying behavior by recognizing its manifestation as symptomatic of other, larger issues.

The caucus’ launch today in Washington included a news conference as well as roundtable sessions with leading advocates and a screening of the documentary film “Bully” at the Department of Education.