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- The Gov Hub Newsletter: February 5, 2024
The Gov Hub Newsletter: February 5, 2024
Gov Hub
February 05, 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
Jump right in
ACTION 1:
The Ask: Tell your [federal] reps to pass the End Diaper Need Act [H.R.5644].
The Action: Hit send on this note from the National Diaper Bank Network.
The Background: Access to diapers is a growing health crisis that TBH not enough people are talking about considering 1 in 2 families with young kids struggle with being able to afford diapers. Access and affordability issues have layers and will take federal and state action (ex: eliminating taxation on diapers in 26 states) to solve. However, one bill, the End Diaper Need Act, would take on a piece of that puzzle by allocating $200 million for the ‘expansion and scaling of programs that address diaper need,’ and will define diapers as medically necessary, meaning that families will be able to then purchase them via their HRAs or health savings accounts.
ACTION 2: State Dependent - check the list below.
The Ask: Tell your [state] reps to end the tampon tax.
The Action: Add your address and hit send on this note from the Alliance for Period Supplies.
The Background: 2 in 5 people with periods struggle to afford supplies, with access only made harder and more expensive in states that tax period products as luxury goods. Yes, you heard that right, there are currently 21 states that view period products – those silly little things! - as luxury products. Tell ‘em ax the tax in the following states: Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Hawai’i, South Dakota, and North Dakota.
ACTION 3:
The Ask: Tell your [federal] reps to pass the DEFIANCE Act.
The Action: Sign this petition from UltraViolet.
The Background: If you’d never heard of a deep fake before last week’s Taylor Swift sitch, welcome to the scary world of the 2024 internet, where nonconsensual sexually explicit AI-generated images can be created and distributed at essentially the press of a button. Deep fakes are incredibly harmful and currently there is no federal law barring their creation or sharing. The DEFIANCE Act aims to change that by creating a “federal civil remedy for victims who are identifiable in a “digital forgery,” which is defined as a visual depiction created through the use of software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other computer-generated or technological means to falsely appear to be authentic.”
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
Hillary Clinton going full lifestyle influencer with this drop, while also throwing subtle shade about ‘keeping her side of the street clean’ is gorgeous fabulousness.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett said cut it out with that nonsense to the GOP on CRT at this hearing. And Dr. Khiara Bridges said let me break it all down for you, from what CRT is to when and how it’s typically taught.
If you’ve ever accidentally said “love you, bye” at the end of a work call, just know it’s at least not as bad as this slip up.
“I got my bipartisanship down in Georgia” - Justin Bieber. Kidding, but the Georgia Future Caucus really does got that bipartisanship going on – no seriously, Rep. Dr. Jasmine Clark told us all about it. And now, the both sides of the aisle crew have decided to focus on artificial intelligence and workforce development this sesh - slaaaay.
Can all the future campaign managers and staffers plz staaaaand up? TYSM standing up wasn't really necessary for what this bullet point is about, but we love theatrics, so here we now are telling you to sign up for Arena Summit in April. Trained campaign staff = winning campaigns = wins for voters.
VOTER PREP
Resources for a wild & wacky (but v important) 2024
TEXAS → The Texas Tribune has launched the Voting Help Desk where subscribers can get notifications on important voter deadlines and direct access to their journalists to answer your burning voting Q’s. Sign up for free here.
NATIONAL → Get ahead of the game and make a voter plan, which can come together easy peasy by following these steps and this tutorial.
COAST TO COAST → Be an absolute icon and level up your community engagement by becoming a poll worker for the 2024 elections. If your new year’s resolution included giving back, this should make its way onto your must-do list.
BOOKMARK IT
Don’t lose the link, bookmark it
NATIONAL DIAPER BANK NETWORK LEGISLATION TRACKER: Diaper access and insecurity is a quietly huge issue across the country, with 1 in 3 families not able to afford enough diapers to keep their baby clean and healthy. There are various avenues for reducing the barriers for families in accessing diapers including state-level legislation. The National Diaper Bank Network is tracking those solutions and the status of each here.
BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T
Bills, bills, bills
FEDERAL: This one is going to hit you like a bus… pun intended. It’s a federal bill, The School Bus Safety Act, which would put into place recs made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to make school buses safer. One of the most logical recs on this list is mandating that school buses have seat belts, something that only a few states across the country require…Now this bill is being considered, but why it’s particularly pertinent is because a working group on school bus safety in Ohio that came together via Governor DeWine said that seatbelts on school buses aren’t necessary. Are we dreaming right now or are seat belts for kids actually controversial in 2024? Screams into pillow
IOWA: Dems in Iowa intro’d a new bill that if passed would guarantee the right to contraception in the state. The bill, Right to Contraception Act, would not only guarantee the right of Iowans to access and use contraception, but guarantee the right for healthcare providers to distribute contraceptives and info on preventing pregnancy. Emergency contraception like Plan B is included in the bill.
GOOD NEWS BEARS
Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]
CT TO CANCEL $1 BILLION IN MEDICAL DEBT FOR QUALIFIED RESIDENTS: Marking a first in the right direction, Connecticut will become the first state to cancel medical debt for select residents. The state plans to use $6.5 million in American Rescue Plan [ARPA] funds, as well as a partnership with a nonprofit that buys debt and eliminates it at a reduced cost, to make it possible. The aim is to wipe out an estimated $1 billion in medical debt, with relief headed the way of 250,000 residents by June 2024. According to ABC7, “Residents whose household income is up to 400% of the federal poverty line [for a family of four, that's $156,000 annually] or whose medical debt equates to 5% or more of their annual income will be eligible under the program.” With more than 1 in 10 CT residents with medical debt in collections, and medical debt being the #1 source of collections in the US, this program is set to provide meaningful and needed relief.
ATL CITY COUNCIL AIMS TO TACKLE PERIOD POVERTY: Truly the topic of the newsletter today, all eyes are on period poverty solutions. In Atlanta, Georgia, City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari has introduced an ordinance that if passed, would require all city-owned or operated buildings/facilities to have dispensers filled with free menstrual pads and tampons. Keep an eye on the story via Axios Atlanta.
HIT PLAY → NEW EPPY OF GATG
Finance girlies meet campaign finance girlies
ATTN: all mathletes, this eppy is for you. It’s all about how to cultivate a career in campaign finance, how to switch from a different career, and why well-trained campaign finance staff is of the utmost importance. It’s also via the lens of campaign finance whiz, Sydney Levin-Epstein, who’s the Director of Development at Arena and knows more than a thing or two about the subject area – and what it’s like to work in Dem politics. Get up on this career path with this eppy and pass it to a friend that’s looking to shake it up in the resume department via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME
ICYMI, a political ongoing of note
SENATE BORDER SECURITY BILL TAKE 10000: After playing price-line negotiator yet again, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a border security deal that would aim to reform operations at the border and related immigration processes. Included in this variation currently:
The federal gov would be provided a new & temporary authority to expel migrants when the average number of daily crossings goes beyond specified limits. For example, if the daily average of migrant encounters hits 4,000, the Department of Homeland Security would then be able to close the border to all migrants without asylum appointments. Various other stipulations apply and the averages would be calculated per seven days. The border also could not be shut down for more than 270 days.
The so-called policy of ‘catch and release’ would get the boot, meaning that all migrants processed at legal ports of entry would be able to enter the US under federal supervision for 90 days while their asylum case is being processed. Those that do not go through legal ports of entry would be detained pending asylum claims. Those that do not meet the asylum mandate would be repatriated.
Asylum claims would be moved from immigration courts to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers, with a timeline for claims to be processed within six months to alleviate the backlog. $ allocated for this transition would be used to hire 4,338 new personnel.
The asylum screening process would be revised, consolidating a multiple interview process into one interview/screening.
Migrants that received the go-ahead on their expedited asylum process would be able to receive work visas immediately.
The bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act [BTW: JellyRoll testified on behalf of it!] would be included.
A pathway to permanent legal status for Afghan allies who helped our troops via the Afghan Adjustment Act is also a part of the deal.
It also includes funds for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, & Indo-Pacific partners.
That’s legit the short version because there’s more in there. Will this bill see the light of day in the House? Given that GOP members are touting false Trump talking points and saying the quiet part out loud that ‘doing something productive on the issue they can’t keep out of their mouths would be bad for their messaging’ in an election year, we’re not going to be holding our breath.
KEY STORIES TO HAVE ON YOUR RADAR
Stories from around the USA
Axios Phoenix: These bipartisan bills could make Arizona housing more affordable
The CAP Times: Keep abortion pills accessible, Josh Kaul asks high court
NPR: A big idea for small farms: How to link agriculture, nutrition, and public health
USA Today: Ohio AG argues some of state’s abortion ban may still be constitutional
ATLAS
Stories from around the globe
BEFORE YOU GO….
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