- The Gov Hub
- Posts
- The Gov Hub Newsletter: April 22, 2024
The Gov Hub Newsletter: April 22, 2024
Gov Hub
April 22, 2024
Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov®. This weekly pop of politics is designed to share action items, resources, & quick links to civic engagement tools & topics. Find a typo? Congrats, today is your lucky day.
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
THE ACTION ITEMS
Get ‘em done from your phone
ACTION 1 – PERIOD POVERTY
The Ask: Tell your [federal] reps to pass the Menstrual Equity for All Act.
The Action: Hit send on this note.
The Background: The Menstrual Equity for All Act aims to eliminate period poverty. Specifically, if passed, it would:
Give states the option to use federal grant funds to provide students in elementary and secondary schools with free menstrual products, and incentivize higher ed institutions to create programs that provide free menstrual products to students.
Ensure incarcerated individuals and detainees in federal [including immigration detention centers], state, and local facilities have access to free menstrual products.
Allow homeless assistance providers to use grant funds that cover shelter necessities, to also use those funds to purchase menstrual products.
Require Medicaid to cover the cost of menstrual products.
Direct large employers to provide free menstrual products for their employees in the workplace.
Require all public federal buildings to provide free menstrual products in the restrooms.
Provide states/localities to support free menstrual products programs.
Ban sales tax on period products.
Create a pilot program within [TANF] to help families in need access menstrual products.
ACTION 2 – PLASTIC POLLUTION
The Ask: Tell your [federal] reps to pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021.
The Action: Hit send on this note.
The Background: In a world run by plastics – no, not the ones from Mean Girls – it’s time for a change of course. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 would help do so, with its updated version including the Plastic Pellet-Free Waters Act and the Protecting Communities from Plastics Act.
ACTION 3 – CHILD MARRIAGE IN CALIFORNIA
The Ask: Tell your [state] reps to pass a ban on child marriage in California.
The Action: Hit send on this note.
The Background: Child marriage is still legal in California. Changing that status is more possible than ever with a child marriage ban bill – AB2924 – being heard in committee tomorrow, April 23, 2024. This bill would ban marriage under the age of 18 – i.e. for children.
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
Two members of Congress told the other that they needed therapy. Since they’re both members of Congress and men, we’re going to go out on a limb here and say they probably both need therapy, regardless of their politics.
There are reports that the Buttigiegs have instituted a ‘new max-five-stuffy-per-bed policy after the animal proliferation started to get out of hand,” with their kids, as detailed on Threads. If their kids are looking for lobbyists to increase the max to six, it’s because they saw this cutie.
Abortion bans are bad for biz, and this dating app, friend making app, and networking app knows it first-hand, and lent an argument-style-hand to the Center of Reproductive Rights in the form of an amicus brief in Zurawski v. Texas.
Speaking of dating, it’s only getting harder out there for some, with young women polling much more liberal than men, who are polling more conservative. In other words, the stars aren’t exactly aligning on values or anything else for that matter. And to think they say opposites attract…
Not to harp on the vibe of dating these days further, but one of the most common pics men share of themselves is one with a fish they caught. This library swapped out fish for books, testing out classic ‘boys that fish’ poses and sharing a book rec or two.
These 21 states still tax tampons as luxury items. If your state’s listed as a tampon taxer, you can tell ‘em to ax the tax here.
There’s a Democrat running in every district in this ultra red state for the first time in 30 years. And yes, a state rep's obsession with legislating cannibalism has something to do with it.
ICYMI, the Kennedy famjam came out in full force endorsement mode for President Biden. We can only imagine what Thanksgiving this year is going to be like. Oh, to be a fly on the wall…
BOOKMARK IT
Don’t lose the link
CONSERVATION.GOV: There’s a new website in town, and she’s giving all of the deats on how you and everyone in your contact list can tap into land and water conservation projects across the country. The one-stop-shop has resources, opportunities, and easy-to-navigate tools, which you can check out and bookmark here.
ABORTION LAWS BY STATE MAP: Keeping up with the evolution of abortion laws following the fall of Roe v. Wade can be overwhelming. This interactive map makes it easy to see, at a birds eye view, the status of abortion access per state and territory. Bookmark it.
GOOD NEWS BEARS
Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]
BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN EXPANDS TITLE IX PROTECTIONS: Circa 1972, Title IX became a thing, prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. As of this coming August 1, 2024, the expanded scope of protections provided by the statutes will go into effect. That scope is where the good news resides, with the statute’s new, more comprehensive, specific, and expanded definition of sex-based discrimination and harassment, including sex stereotypes, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy [or related conditions or needs – ex: lacatation], or sex characteristics. In other words, starting during Leo Szn, discrimination that hits any of those markers in places of education receiving federal franklins [dollar bills], is a no-go. It also requires schools to respond in the case that they have a student that faces discrimination based on those qualifications
NY TO SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM; TAX BREAK WILL BE USED TO HIRE JOURNALISTS: In a time where journalism is needed more than ever, and yet newsroom doors continue to shutter [go buy a copy of your local newspaper], the inclusion of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act in NY’s state budget is a BFD. Should all go as planned as the budget moves toward finalization, the program will create a payroll tax credit for local news orgs [as a majority, independently-owned], helping them to hire and retain journalists. The goal is to bolster local journalism and thus bolster the health of democracy – these two things are symbiotic AF. $30 million a year will be dedicated to this program, which according to Politico, is the first of its kind nationally.
VOTING RIGHTS RESTORED FOR NEBRASKANS WITH FELONY CONVICTIONS STARTING JULY 18: In Nebraska, a new bill has become law that restores voting rights for those with felony convictions in the state once they’ve completed their sentence. As reported by Democracy Docket, the bill came via an amendment to an existing law, and removes a two year wait period to register to vote post time served. To note, the bill – LB 20 – made it across the finish line and into law without the signature of Nebraska’s Governor Jim Pillen. In the state, if the governor doesn’t ‘return the bill’ i.e. either sign or veto it within five days of receipt, the bill becomes law. — that’s the case here. This law will take effect starting on July 18, 2024.
BIDEN ANNOUNCES $7 BILLION IN AWARDS VIA THE EPA’S SOLAR FOR ALL PROGRAM: Happy Earth Day to all, and especially to the 60 recipients of grants being awarded by the EPA to help make carbon-reducing solar projects a reality. The grants, which will be announced today by Biden at Prince William Forest Park in Virginia, will fund residential solar projects that are estimated to “serve 900,000-plus households in low-and middle-income communities,” according to AP. The grants will come through the Solar For All grant program, which came to life via the Inflation Reduction Act. The projects resulting from the grants are also estimated to create 200,000 jobs. On the topic of jobs, the Biden-Harris Administration's Climate Corps will have all eyes on it, with a new website launching today that’ll be sharing 2,000 jobs across 36 states, as well as in DC and Puerto Rico.
WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME
ICYMI, political ongoings of note
WHITE HOUSE RESPONDS TO SPIRALING ANTISEMITISM AT COLUMBIA: Antisemitism has been spinning out of control nationwide, and especially so on college campuses. One such campus is the Ivy League’s Columbia, where the safety of Jewish students is no more, as made vividly apparent over the last week’s events, which included the physical intimidation of Jewish students, support of terrorist organizations, threats of death to Jews, and agitation across the central campus of the school. The situation devolved to such a degree that it prompted campus Jewish leaders to urge Jewish students to leave the premises for their own safety, and the school to make all classes remote today. The timing comes at the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover, and following Columbia’s president testifying in front of Congress last week regarding the school’s handling or lack of handling of antisemitism on campus. In response, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates issued a statement on the matter:
“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said. “They have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the United States of America.”
The second gentlemen – the first Jewish second gentlemen, Doug Emhoff, has also commented on the failure of schools like Columbia to keep Jewish students safe, alongside Congressman Jared Moskowitz offering to walk with Jewish students on campus.
HOUSE PASSES $95.3 BILLION FOREIGN AID PACKAGE: The behemoth bipartisan bill [say that 3x fast] or supplemental spending measure rather, to provide emergency aid for key US allies [Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan], and humanitarian assistance funds for Gaza, passed the House this weekend after months of in-fighting amongst members of Congress. As per usual, the ‘how’ is findable in the manual we’ve dubbed the ‘how can we use rules that only insiders of insiders know to get shit done playbook’ or as Roll Call explains, via four bills put into one vehicle. If you noticed in that allies list, there’s only three, and asked ‘so what about the fourth bill?’ the fourth bill’s aim is to sanction Iran, China, Russia, and put forth policies like the TikTok divestment/ban bill. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
HGW LISTENS
Hit play on these pods
On the latest episode of The Amendment podcast, Errin Haines played host to Kim Teehe, who has a goal to become the first Cherokee delegate in Congress. Tap into the convo here.
What would passing a Transgender Bill of Rights look like? This eppy of GATG with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal gets into it.
A new book about anxiety has been causing…anxiety. The author of The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt chatted about the book and his findings on this episode of The Political Scene.
KEY READS
Important stories from around the USA
ATLAS
Stories from around the globe
NBC: She secretly educated herself to escape Afghanistan. Now, she’s working to help women still there
The Guardian: More people will vote in 2024 than ever before…but where are the female candidates?
Semafor: Spate of arrests shows how deeply Russia has infiltrated Europe
BEFORE YOU GO….
FOR DIGITAL TEAMS: | FOR FANS OF THE POD: |