The Gov Hub Newsletter: August 26, 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!

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THE ACTION ITEMS

Get ‘em done from your phone

ACTION 1 – AI DEEPFAKES

The Ask: Tell social media companies to crack down on political deepfakes.

The Background: Political deepfakes – just like deepfakes of any kind – are incredibly dangerous and can have long lasting consequences. Social media platforms need to take responsibility and stop these deepfakes in their tracks – and certainly not share or retweet them [yes, this is subtweet].

ACTION 2 – HEALTHCARE

The Ask: Tell Congress to cap the cost of inhalers for kids.

The Background: Earlier this year, Senator Bernie Sanders put the spotlight on the ridiculous cost for inhalers, forcing the hands of big pharma to reduce the price. However, a little light bullying from one Senator isn’t enough – legislation needs to make a price cap happen, especially for kids.

ACTION 3 – ENERGY POVERTY brought to readers by We Stand for Energy

The Ask: Tell Congress to fully fund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program [LIHEAP]

The Background: As deadly extreme heat waves continue across the United States, low-income families need support for their energy bills now more than ever. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, plays a crucial role in addressing energy poverty and helping struggling communities get access to the energy resources they need. But to support millions of vulnerable Americans each year, the program requires adequate funding levels.

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

• The Kroger and Albertsons grocery chain wedding aka merger has been put on hold and now goes before a federal district court judge to determine whether to delay the biz-style nuptials, this week. These are the FAQs.

• Who will be in charge of Kamala’s presidential glam and style? WE’RE ALL DYING TO KNOW. In the meantime, we’ll be saying copy, paste, send the link to these iconic political ‘fits.

• NJ Governor Phil Murphy threw down the political version of you can’t sit with us at the DNC if you’re not from the garden state. TBH, the most Jersey thing to happen in an age and uniting all three regions of the state together.

• Nuclear Weapons are on the ballot – no, literally, and this is the full 411 from the girlies in STEM x nuclear policy.

• The DNC recap as adjectives – adorable, iconic, dramatic, heartwarming, joyful, PRESIDENTIAL.

• The DOJ has taken interest in the ‘rent is too damn high’ status quo, filing an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, that interesting little company that’s behind the rent-setting algorithm that’s under watch for price fixing x reducing market competition x driving increased rent prices.

• It’s National Dog Day [the one faux holiday we celebrate at GATG] and these Deputy Campaign Manager dog bandanas are the paw-fect way to celebrate.

ELECTION SZN 2024

Guides, chatter, who’s who

• The guy who had a brain worm and dumped a bear cub in Central Park, i.e. RFK Jr. dropped out of the presidential race on Friday to endorse Trump – and to that we say, pick your Kennedy’s wisely. Oh, did we mention there’s now a story going around about RFK Jr. beheading a whale? And then there’s the ‘trying to get a meeting with Kamala to convince her to give him a seat in her future admin story…’

• The Divine Nine, and especially the AKA’s ‘understand the assignment,’ and are bringing pink, green, and civic action to election szn.

• The ~girls~ are fighting for House seats, especially in these five key races across the country.

• Who is Second Gentleman, Dougie? According to Politico, he’s ‘Dad-in-Chief’ – although, we’d argue that Gus’s Dad actually takes the title. Semantics aside, this gives the gist and the vibes.

• In Nebraska, two opposing abortion ballot measures will go in front of voters this November, which is totally not confusing at all… aka it is, so get up to speed on the need to know here.

HGW LISTENS

Hit play on these pods

• Where do cooking terms and sports terms come together under one roof? Nuclear weapons chit chat, with the nuclear biscuit and the nuclear football, both of which are discussed on this episode of Girl and the Gov, The Podcast with the Federation of American Scientists’ Eliana Johns and Mackenzie Knight. 

• There are four Dems running to unseat four Republicans from House seats in Iowa, and Sarah and Liz share the deats on each with this episode of Iowa: We Can Do Better.

• File this episode of Field Trip from the Washington Post on the history of Everglades National Park as the pregame for the good news on national parks in this newsletter’s Good News Bears section.

CAN I GET A MERCH PLEASE?

Closet upgrades

Get in the club – the Gov Club or get civically engaged with fresh merch picks in a variety of colors and types, and all the things. 

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE SET TO RECEIVE $100 MILLION DONATION: Breaking records, the National Parks Service – specifically its nonprofit arm – will receive a $100 million donation from the Lilly Endowment Inc. How the grant will be used most specifically is in the TBD phase, but will at-large be positioned to tackle the national park system’s many conservation and restoration goals from coast to coast. Additionally, according to AP, the gift will also be used to bolster efforts in bringing more young people to national parks.

43,000 FARMERS ISSUED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE VIA IRA’S DISCRIMINATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: If you blinked in July, you may have missed this story – selves included, but the distribution of funds allocated by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act to address systemic discrimination experienced by farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners, began. The funds, which were issued to eligible farmers that applied for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program [DFAP] will impact 43,000 around the country. The larger aim of the program is to make up [to the degree possible] for lost revenue as a result of discrimination, including being denied USDA loans based on race or ethnicity. The full details of the program thus far can be found here. And, not to play negative Nance, but it does appear – in low key, classic gov fashion – the application process was no walk in the park, and improvements need to be to this step in a positive direction. 

MA GOVERNOR SIGNS MATERNAL HEALTH BILL: Governor Healey is making waves, and not just for her Dunkin order, but for signing a comprehensive maternal health bill into law. The new legislation aims to give a whole makeover to maternal health practices and options in the state. Now, as a result, MassHealth will be required to cover “doula services for pregnant people up to 12 months postpartum while mandating insurance coverage for postpartum depression screenings for any member who recently became a parent or lost a pregnancy.” Midwifery will also be covered. And for more wins in this legislation, it creates a new grant program for non-profits/community-based health centers in MA that are focused on addressing mental health conditions and substance use disorders for perinatal patients. Regulation for freestanding birth centers is also central to this new law and will run through DPH or the Department of Public Health.

WISCONSIN TAXPAYERS TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS FEDERAL DIRECT FILE IN ‘25: If you were in one of the pilot program states, you may be familiar with the direct file program made possible federally by the Inflation Reduction Act i.e. actually funding the IRS so it can function as intended and modernize. In 2025, the program – which was dubbed a success in its first round – will be expanding to more states, meaning more taxpayers will have a zero cost, straight-forward option for filing their tax returns. One of those states is Wisconsin – this is what it’ll mean for residents.

KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

• Politico: California could be first state to help undocumented immigrants purchase homes

• PennLive: Pa. cops and corrections officers want access to more opioid overdose treatments

• Texas Tribune: Judge rejects Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to shut down Houston immigrant rights group

• Floricua: Delegates call for Puerto Rico to be ‘the next state of the United States at DNC’

• LAist: Some tribal police would get more power under a new bill to combat crimes like indigenous kidnappings.

BEFORE YOU GO…

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