Tell the EPA: No Regulation Rollback! Last Day to Submit Your Comments
Monday, May 15th
(Adapted from Rogan's List)
In the midst of the Comey storm, don’t forget the EPA public comment period, which ends May 15th. In case you're not sure what we're commenting on, the EPA asked for comment on "regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification" after Trump signed Executive Order 13777, "Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda".
Over 50,000 comments have already been received, and most people are asking the EPA to leave existing regulations in place, arguing that there's no need to roll back environmental protections.
Action You Can Take Today
ClimateTruth.org makes it easy to submit a comment: https://act.climatetruth.org/sign/EPA-regulations/ or you can go directly to the EPA comment site: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190-0042. If you're not sure how to structure your comments, visit the EPA's "Tips on Effective Comments" FAQ page.
On Mother's Day: Support the Health of Women Worldwide
Sunday, May 14th
It's Mother's Day. Here's a way to honor your mother by supporting the health of impoverished women worldwide:
Make a donation to Friends of UNFPA.
The Trump-Pence Administration’s drastic and irresponsible decision to eliminate funding to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, directly affects millions of the most vulnerable women and girls around the world. The fact is: cutting funding to UNFPA will cut women’s lives short.
This action does more than defund UNFPA – it defunds women’s lives.
Eliminating the U.S. contribution will force UNFPA’s lifesaving work to scale back dramatically. Without the U.S. contribution, UNFPA will be prevented from providing lifesaving reproductive health care to 10.5 million women and girls and from reaching 9 million people in humanitarian crises.
UNFPA is the largest international provider of family planning and reproductive health care globally, working in more than 150 countries and territories. UNFPA not only provides essential voluntary family planning information and guidance, but also delivers emergency obstetric care, trains and deploys midwives, works to end female genital mutilation, works to repair obstetric fistulas and prevent new cases, and vigorously combats child marriage and gender-based violence.
From 2014 to 2016 U.S. support allowed UNFPA to provide lifesaving assistance to an estimated 10.5 million people in humanitarian circumstances. In 2016 alone the U.S. contribution for UNFPA’s work prevented more than 10,000 maternal deaths. Additionally, U.S. support helped UNFPA avert 320,000 unintended pregnancies and 100,000 unsafe abortions. It also enabled approximately 800,000 people to voluntarily decide how many children they will have.
We call on the Administration to reverse this decision immediately. Further, we call on Americans to stand with UNFPA. Together we will demonstrate that Americans care deeply about the health and dignity of all women and girls and will act to support them wherever they live.
As the official support committee for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, every dollar you give is used efficiently to mobilize further funds and action for UNFPA’s lifesaving work. We’re proud of the way we manage our funds, so you can contribute with confidence. Donate here.
Organized under the laws of New York State as a not-for-profit corporation, Friends of UNFPA is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Our Federal Identification Number is: 13-3996346.
Protect Our Citizens, Protect Our Elections: Fund the 2020 Census
Friday, May 12th
File this under the header "important things that are happening while we focus on Comey."
As reported in The Guardian, "In a bill enacted last week, President Donald Trump has given the (US Census) bureau less than half its requested budget increase for 2017. The bureau asked for more money because accurately understanding the US population is expensive. The 2010 census cost the US taxpayer $13bn, which works out at roughly $42 for each of the 308.7 million people that were counted." According to Five Thirty Eight, this budget "keep(s) spending flat in a year when, based on past 10-year cycles, it should be increasing by 60 percent or more."
On Wednesday, the director of the US Census Bureau resigned, stating he couldn't do his job without adequate funding. Again, "The numbers from the Census Bureau underpin just about everything we know about the economy, education, health and justice in America. Without them, the US government won’t be making public policy based on public need. That’s an equation that just doesn’t add up."
Census numbers also affect redistricting. If we want to fight gerrymandering, we must have an accurate census.
Action You Can Take Today
Tell your members of Congress that you care about the census. Tell the Commerce Department that you care about the census: Secretary Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20230.
Bonus Action:
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross made light of the dropping of 59 Tomahawk missiles on Syria by saying it was in lieu of “after-dinner entertainment” when China's President Xi visited Trump: http://time.com/4762582/wilbur-ross-syria-airstrike-after-dinner-entertainment-donald-trump/
Remind Secretary Ross that bombs are not entertainment: Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20230
Support NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's Inquiry into Trump/Russia
Wednesday, May 10th
Yesterday, Trump fired FBI chief James Comey, purportedly over his investigation of Hillary Clinton. We're not fooled - Comey was fired because he was investigating Trump and the Trump Administration. Now, more and more members of Congress, including some Republicans, are calling for an independent investigation of Trump and his Russia ties.
According to today's New York Times, however, there is no clear path to an independent investigation of #TrumpRussia. The post-Nixon law creating a "special prosecutor" or "independent counsel" expired in 1999. A "special counsel" would still be under the control of the newly appointed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who showed yesterday that he and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are in no way interested in finding the truth. A "special congressional commission" could investigate and create a report, but nothing beyond that.
As a result, it looks like it is up to state officials such as New York's Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who cannot be fired by the President or the President's men, to actually perform that independent investigation. As noted in the Daily News in March, "Schneiderman, a frequent Trump critic, has repeatedly said his office will sue the administration if necessary to protect New Yorkers' and the state's interests."
Action You Can Take Today
Tell AG Schneiderman that you support investigations by his office into Trump's ties to Russia, potential violation of the emoluments clause, and any other Trump or Trump associate activity that may violate our laws.
Call: 1-800-771-7755
Write:
Office of the Attorney General
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341
Send an email: https://ag.ny.gov/questions-comments-attorney-general-eric-t-schneiderman
Healthcare Heads to the Senate: Keep up the Pressure
Tuesday, May 9th
(Adapted from Rogan's List)
It will be tougher to pass the healthcare bill in the Senate, but it can be adjusted and pass.
Actions You Can Take Today
There are some vulnerable Republican senators. Write to these senators and tell them we will not accept a healthcare bill that leave millions uninsured because of pre-existing conditions, cuts Medicaid for our most vulnerable, and gives tax cuts to the wealthy. You can use this opportunity to tell them what you would like the bill to address, including a Single Payer system. A recent Pew Research Center survey revealed that more Americans are leaning toward government-sponsored healthcare. Even Trump likes a single-payer system: But single-payer is not the same as public option. Many of our legislators will try to turn a conversation about single payer into one about the public option, which would not cover as much.
- Alaska: Lisa Murkowski, 1900 First Ave Ste 225, Ketchikan AK 99901-6059
- Arizona: Jeff Flake, 6840 N Oracle Rd Ste 150, Tucson AZ 85704-4252
- Colorado: Cory Gardner, 102 S Tejon St #930, Colorado Springs CO 80903-2231
- Maine: Susan Collins, 1 Canal Plz Ste 802, Portland ME 04101-4035
- Nevada: Dean Heller, 8930 W Sunset Rd Ste 230, Las Vegas NV 89148-5010
- Ohio: Rob Portman, 37 W Broad St Ste 300, Columbus OH 43215-4180
- Pennsylvania: Pat Toomey, US Federal Bldg, 17 S Park Row B120, Erie PA 16501-1156, 8)
- West Virginia: Shelly Moore Capito, 48 Donley St Ste 504, Morgantown WV 26501-5900
Bonus Action:
Congressman Raul Labrador in Idaho sparked outrage at a Town Hall on Friday when he said that “nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care” Since a study at Harvard showed that approximately 45,000 people die annually due to lack of health care: let’s check in with Labrador about his math: Rep. Raul Labrador, 1523 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
And in case you haven't heard, our Congressman, Sean Patrick Maloney, has started the #AdoptADistrict movement in the House, suggesting that Democratic members of Congress hold town hall meetings in Republican districts when the representative for that district won't. Last night, he spoke at a town hall meeting in John Faso's NY-19 district. Hundreds of people stood in line in Kingston to watch congressional leadership in action.
