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The Gov Hub: January 16, 2024

The Gov Hub: January 16, 2024

Gov Hub
January 16, 2024

Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov®. This weekly pop of politics is designed to share action items, resources, and quick links to civic engagement tools and topics. Find a typo? Congrats, today is your lucky day.

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THE ACTION ITEMS

Jump right in

ACTION 1:

The Ask: Tell your [federal] reps to support The Full-Service Community School Expansion Act.

The Action: Hit send on this note.

The Background: The goal of this bill is to “improve student outcomes by helping public schools and districts bring in wraparound support services including medical, mental, and nutrition health services, mentoring and youth development programs, technical assistance, and continuing education courses.” The bill, if passed, would also provide support for school districts that look to implement the bill’s benefits, building out infrastructure for programs to be rolled out.

ACTION 2:

The Ask: Tell the EPA to finalize and strengthen lead and copper pipe rules.

The Action: Submit a personal comment here.

The Background: The Biden Admin has made lead pipe removal and lead poisoning prevention a priority. That has led to new guidelines i.e. rules for the EPA on dealing with lead pollution in drinking water and getting rid of lead pipes. The newly proposed rules are up for public comment, which means that you can give feedback on them, sharing whether they’re strong enough, any areas that need improvement, or why you’re game for elements or all of the details. Tell ‘em your thoughts.

ACTION 3:

The Ask: Tell you [federal] reps to permanently expand the Child Tax Credit and SNAP.

The Action: Hit send on this note here.

The Background: There are a number of policies that have been proven to reduce poverty – including the child tax credit that came to fruition during COVID. That’s not the only winning policy however – the Center for American Progress has outlined 12 that have proven to be W’s and can be so much more in the fight to cut poverty rates in the US if expanded and made permanent. Check out the 12 solutions, here.

Looking for more action items? Check our library of past Gov Hub’s.

FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND

Just about guaranteed to make it to the group chat

Man with the crazy eyes and the creepy tattoo of Nixon on his back, also known as Roger Stone, was caught on tape discussing his desire for the assassination of two Congressional Democrats.

Dr. Biden discussed what her teaching career means to her and what it gives to her. It gives inspo x ray of sunshine.

In the closing arguments of Trump’s NY civil fraud trial, the Judge had Bernie Madoff on the mind, asking how Madoff’s Ponzi scheme (the largest of all time) compared to Trump’s behavior. Reporter Susanne Craig paints this picture, here.

Chelsea Handler was dropping mic drops left and right at the Critics Choice Awards, including this one featuring DeSantis.

The Iowa Caucuses may be over, but this convo with voters and this convo with young voters specifically, provide insight on the vibe.

HGW LISTENS

Hit play on these pods

Get to know former First Lady Betty Ford or as Right Answers Mostly calls her, the feminist, sober pioneer, and dancing queen, with this episode.

Get the vibe check on what Trump’s lawyer thinks is covered via presidential immunity with this episode of Vibes Only.

Get the tips and tricks on how to identify misinformation on social media and the world wide web with this episode featuring an interview with PolitiFact’s Editor-in-Chief.

Get the scoop on fighting extremism from Rep. Jasmine Crockett on this episode of The Tent.

ON THE CAL

RSVP, yes plz

CLIMATE CORPS LISTENING SESH: The White House is gearing up for the offish launch of the Climate Corps and they want the 411 from those interested in joining on what they want to see for the program. Have an idea for what would make the Climate Corps a big ol’ W? Sign up to attend a listening sesh.

**BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T**

Bills, bills, bills

VERMONT: A new behemoth of a bill that addresses housing and has tri-partisan support has made its way to the desk of discussion in VT. H.719 is wide-ranging and takes aim at an old land-use law that has hampered development, Act 250. The new bill in town would exempt housing development in designated areas from Act 250 review, raise the threshold of units per area permitted by the Act, allow local municipalities to bypass Act 250 if they already have a serious zoning process in place, looks to revise the appeal process for projects, regulatory changes for conversion projects, and so much more.

IDAHO: Back at it again is the Idaho state legislature with a new proposed book ban. This ban or HB 384, if passed, would ban LGBTQ+ books, along with others like that famous one called the Bible. According to reporting from Erin In The Morning, the legislators are discussing a clause that could ban books with gay characters.

WISCONSIN: A hot new bill has entered the villa Wisconsin legislature. Said bill is a proactive one, and would address a loophole made possible by FEC ruling in 2021 that declared that foreign donors are allowed to finance U.S. referendum initiatives. The bill, if passed, would ban foreign nationals from being able to put money behind state and local referendums in Wisconsin.

COLORADO: State Rep. Lindsey Daugherty intro’d the Bill of Rights for Foster Youth [HB24-1017]. The goal of the bill is to ensure that children and teens in the foster care system are treated with respect and dignity, with protections against discrimination and with guarantees like access to education. For more on the current state of the foster care system, tune into this pod with Rep. Daugherty.

WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME

ICYMI, political ongoings in no particular order

TRUMP IN, VIVEK OUT POST IOWA CAUCUSES: The Iowa Caucuses came and went in a flash, and the winner came at no surprise to literally anyone. Trump took the win with 51% of the vote, making a clean sweep with Iowa voters. The second place slot was taken by everyone’s favorite high heel wearer, DeSantis, and third by Nikki Haley. The race also weeded out flame throwing conspiracy theorist Vivek Ramaswamy who dropped out and endorsed Trump. If this were a CW romcom show, the theme of “will they, won’t they” on a Trump x Vivek ticket would be central. Anyway, onward to New Hampshire!

15 GOP LED STATES OPT OUT OF PROGRAM THAT WOULD FEED FOOD INSECURE KIDS: On the positive end of this story, 35 states will participate in a program that will help kids access food during the summer months, while school is out of session. The federally funded program will allow low income families with kids to receive $120 per student in food benefits in states that have opted in. Essentially the food benefits act as a stand in for free or reduced school lunch that a student might be receiving during the school year.

With food insecurity on the rise, the program aims to keep children fed. Despite that admirable goal, 15 GOP governors opted their states out of the program. Some cite concerns over being able to execute the logistical end of the program but have an interest in participating at a later date (Vermont), and others like Nebraska’s Governor has declared ‘he’s against welfare’ so it’s a no from him, and then there’s Iowa’s Governor who seems to think feeding low income kids will hinder ‘her fight’ against childhood obesity…? To make matters more dire, 10 out of the 15 states saying no thx to summer food assistance, are states where hunger is notched above the national average.

40K SIGNATURES SUBMITTED IN ALASKA TO GET MINIMUM WAGE HIKE ON THE BALLOT: In Alaska, advocates a part of Better Jobs for Alaska submitted 40,000 petition signatures in support of a ‘24 ballot measure that would bring a vote on raising the minimum wage to voters. The proposal seeks to achieve a $15/hour minimum wage by 2027, raising it from its current $11.73/hour. The initiative goes beyond the pay rate, and also seeks to mandate paid leave and to prevent employers from requiring their employees to attend employer mandated meetings on politics or religion. According to the Alaska Beacon and the Division of Elections, for the ballot to hit the next W of making the November ballot, at least 26,705 of the collected signatures must be from registered voters and hit “legal standards for geographic diversity.”

KEY STORIES TO HAVE ON YOUR RADAR

Stories from around the USA

NPR: Education Dept. fast-tracks forgiveness for borrowers with smaller student loans
CalMatters: Supreme Court will hear case about homeless encampments, with huge implications for California
The Texas Tribune: Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi backed a group with white supremacist ties – while working for its billionaire funder
Teen Vogue: The Second Ku Klux Klan: How It Gained Social and Political Power Among White Protestants

ATLAS

Stories from around the globe - section background avail here

AP: Who is Guatemala's new president and can he deliver on promised change?
The Hill: Houthi missile hits US-owned vessel off Yemen
NBC: Maldives leader demands removal of Indian military by mid-March
Semafor: Suspects in thwarted Danish terror plot linked to Hamas as group’s influence grows

HIT PLAY → NEW EPISODE OF THE POD

Bipartisanship isn’t a fantasy, it’s a reality

It’s a 2024 miracle - bipartisanship is still alive and well. No, this is not a prank, we’re FR. The case is proven by the Future Caucus, which brings together young legislators from across the aisle and provides a space for them to talk out issues, ideas, and work together to get shit done. It’s proven even further by those legislators doing the work, which include pod guests VT Rep. Mary-Katherine Stone, a Democrat and VT Rep. Casey Toof, A Republican, who are co-chairs of the Vermont Future Caucus. The two came on the show and discussed how they work together and what bipartisanship is all about. Dive into the convo on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

PS & BTW → don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review.