Gun Violence The NRA is losing its stranglehold on Congress, with a majority of House Reps now favoring steps to impose sensible gun laws, including universal background checks. States with stricter gun laws have a lower rate of gun deaths, as the Giffords Law Center Gun Law Scorecard shows. It is reasonable, therefore, to conclude that stricter gun laws nationally would reduce the level of gun violence the country is currently experiencing. Action: 1. Contact your Member of Congress and ask them to pass legislation to enforce universal background checks for all firearms sales, including private sales. 2. Consider donating to an organization which lobbies for gun safety legislation:
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Land and Water Conservation Fund The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act of 1965 was created “to assist in preserving, developing, and assuring accessibility” to outdoor resources for recreational and conservation purposes. The Fund expired on September 30 this year, and there is now a bipartisan effort under way to permanently reauthorize and fund the LWCF. Action: 1. Contact your MoC and tell them it is important to you that Congress pass H.R. 502 to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. 2. Contact your Senators and tell them it is important to you that the Senate pass S.896 to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg Paris Climate Agreement Nearly every country in the world has signed on to the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump, however, has withdrawn the United States from the Agreement. As a major contributor to global warming, the United States’ participation in the Agreement is vital, and a majority of American voters support it. As individual states are responsible for regulating their own emissions, governors of several states have formed the United States Climate Alliance, pledging that their states will adhere to the standards set by the Paris Agreement. If enough states join the Alliance, it won’t matter that Trump has pulled the country as a whole out of the Paris Agreement. Action: Contact the governor of your state, asking them to join the United States Climate Alliance and work with other state leaders to maintain the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement. If your governor has already signed onto the Alliance, contact them to communicate your support and approval. Trump Targets Immigrants Trump is proposing a federal rule which would bar recipients of public services from obtaining legal status in the United States. In the past, immigrants who are seeking legal status have still been allowed to receive non-cash benefits, such as Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers, etc. Under the new rule, anyone who applies for any of these programs is subject to deportation. Many families will forego necessary medical care for their U.S. citizen children out of fear that other members of the family will be deported. The proposed rule is open for public comment. Action: Use this site to submit your comments to the federal register. Harassment on the Hill A group of 1,500 former Hill Staffers, Congress Too, is pushing for meaningful legislation to combat the problem of sexual harassment on the Hill. While the House and Senate have each produced a bill, a final bill reconciling the two versions is not yet forthcoming. The House version of the bill (the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act) is stronger than the Senate’s. Congress Too is asking that the Senate pass the House’s version if there is no time to reconcile the the two bills before the end of the 115th Congress Action: Contact your Senators and ask them to pass the House version of the Congressional Accountability Act immediately if there is not a speedy resolution of the differences between the two bills. Stress that the matter should be wrapped up before the end of the current session so that the new session can begin with protections in place. Whitaker & Mueller Trump has replaced Jeff Sessions with Matt Whitaker. In a rare display of ethics, Sessions had recused himself from oversight of the Mueller investigation because of conflict of interest. Whitaker is equally conflicted due to his close ties with Trump, but DT seems to believe that Whitaker has fewer scruples and that he will step in if necessary to protect his patron now that the GOP congressional firewall has disappeared. US News reports that Whitaker will consult with DoJ ethics officials over his potential recusal. Action: Call the Justice Department comment line - leave your name and zip code and ask that Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker recuse himself from oversight of and involvement in the Mueller investigation: 202-353-1555 The GOP = Trump’s Minions It has become clear to everyone by now that the Republicans in the House and Senate have, with a few exceptions, completely caved in to Trump and are willing to put up with any and every outrage perpetrated by the White House. The President and his circle seem willing to go to any lengths to undo the progress of the last century. Action: Contact your Member of Congress and Senators if they are Republica and demand that they repudiate Donald Trump and everything he stands for. If your Member of Congress is a Democrat, ask them to draw up articles of impeachment against Trump. Beto 2020. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iOpynXnonU&fbclid=IwAR0NUZ3k8zRXWI3HjxThiRF1xNxe5Tz8USwn4oa8Kwojd1OvSAzUKwUxQ5s |
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November 2019
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