Hi friends,
In my apartment, it often feels like summer; we’ve removed all the radiators, and it’s still hot in here! Outside, it feels more like October or April than February. That all-the-seasons-at-once feeling means we have to wear layers and try to flow.
Politically, it is also all seasons at once. We’re on the tail end of the state-of-the-city/state/nation season and already in legislative and budget seasons.
Seth Meyers paired a 2010 video of Senator Mike Lee calling for the end of Social Security with his reaction shot when Biden said during the SOTU that Republicans want to cut Social Security. This is what Lee said in the video:
“It will be my objective to phase out Social Security. To pull it up by the roots and get rid of it. . . . Medicare and Medicaid are of the same sort and need to be pulled up.”
I enjoyed the written accounts of Biden’s brilliant State of the Union improv, but I had to watch the video of the Republicans on their feet, applauding protections of Social Security and Medicare.
Apparently, Biden is enjoying himself and is taking his message to the people. Today, he told an audience in Tampa,
“Over 1.1m people in Florida would be eligible for Medicaid if Governor De Santis would just agree to expand it.”
Tell ‘em, Joe.
Tell Congress that Care Can’t Wait! This quick action is from the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
The president challenged Republicans to make specific budget proposals. In addition to targeting cuts to programs like community centers for trans and gender-expansive people of color, Republicans have suggested
additional work requirements for certain welfare programs like SNAP, as well as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
Republicans argued the nation could “save tens of billions and spur economic growth” by bringing more Americans into the workforce. But the proposal didn’t include further details about the proposed work requirements.
This is a terrible idea, from every angle. With additional pandemic allotments to SNAP set to end next month, families are about to face additional hardships.
Nearly 90% of counties with the highest food insecurity rates are rural, and about one in five rural children are facing hunger for a projected increase higher than pre-pandemic levels. A recent survey has shown that half of rural parents say that they're struggling to afford to feed their families.
Presumably, the bad idea to put the squeeze on people who are already struggling will be politically unpalatable. (We’ll take action to stop it if they get around to writing the legislation.) If the goal is to get people to work, affordable childcare is a better bet.
Tell Congress to commit to solving the child care crisis. This action is from Moms Rising.
It’s budget season at the state level, too. NY Renews sent this quick tool to demand investments in frontline communities.
Let state legislative leaders in New York know that we need to fund climate justice with the Climate, Jobs, and Justice package.
Here’s some more good news: Pennsylvania’s legislature is back in the hands of Democrats after three special elections filled seats vacated by Democrats.
Election season never ends, it seems. There is a special election for a Congressional seat in Virginia coming up.
Join the Environmental Voter Project to work the phones for the Feb 21 special election.
It’s also public comment season, which is how we deal with dirty fossil fuel projects (until all voters are environmental voters!).
Two Senators — Republican Shelley Moore Capito and Dempublican Joe Manchin — are working on “permit reform” legislation. In addition to clearing the way for projects without the ‘interference’ of the public, both legislators are committed to getting the Mountain Valley Pipeline built, in spite of the environmental damage it would cause.
As is generally the case, the affected communities in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina, have already been hard hit by environmental hazards.
Tell the US Army Corps of Engineers to refuse permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. This quick action is from Climate Hawks Vote.
President Biden is considering approval of a scaled-down version of ConocoPhillips’ Willow Oil and Gas Project in Alaska. The project had won approval under the last Administration, but a judge rejected that decision because the climate analysis did not meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.
Biden’s decision is about three weeks away.
Sign Civic Shout’s petition to tell Biden and the Bureau of Land Management that this fossil fuel project is a bad investment.
with love,
L