The Gov Hub Newsletter: July 8, 2024

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Gov Hub
July 08, 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 – SCOTUS TERM LIMITS

The Ask: Tell Congress, SCOTUS needs term limits now.

The Background: Lifetime appointments are so yesterday for SCOTUS. Accountability is needed for the Court and one way to bring it to the bench is with term limits, and a whole host of reforms per Congressman Ro Khanna. 

ACTION 2 – FOOD SECURITY FOR SENIORS

The Ask: Tell Congress to increase funding for the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program.

The Background: The Older Americans Act Nutrition Program is no spring chicken – it passed in 1965 and provides grants to states for programs and services that support seniors, like Meals on Wheels. As more boomers age into seniority, more support for programs that fall under the OAA are needed.

ACTION 3 – IVF

The Ask: Tell your Senators and member of Congress to co-sponsor the Access to Family Building Act.

The Background: In a time where this GOP member of Congress is trying to ban IVF [and has anti-IVF posters outside of his office], it’s time to make sure access to essential family building tools are protected. Get your reps on board and tell them to co-sponsor the Access to Family Building Act.

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

  • We’ve left the era of ‘they’re saying the quiet part out loud’ and offish entered the ‘they’re screaming from the rooftops and on podcasts’ era with the President of the far-right think tank, The Heritage Foundation – ya know, the guys behind Project 2025 [authoritarian hellscape] – saying “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be” on Steve Bannon’s podcast. Direct quote, all gas, no brakes to insanity. Anyways, check your voter registration now.

  • On a different note, perhaps one more under the radar, The Atlantic did an expose on rural Republicans that are fighting to save their public schools and the Democrats that they’re working with in unlikely partnerships to do it.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

ARKANSAS ACTIVISTS COLLECT ENOUGH SIGNATURES TO MOVE ABORTION AMENDMENT AHEAD: While we won’t count our chickens before they hatch, this news – the news that Arkansans for Limited Government collected more than 100,000 signatures to get abortion on the ballot this November is a BFD. In order for the ballot measure to move ahead, 90,700 signatures were required by a July 5, 2024 deadline. The process of what happens next looks like this. The measure – should it make the ballot – would enshrine abortion access up to 18 weeks, access for all pregnancies resulting from rape, incest, fetal anomalies, and when abortion is needed to protect the pregnant women’s life and health, in the state constitution.  

BABY BONUS BALLOT INITIATIVE MAKES BALTIMORE BALLOT: Read that headline 3x fast plz, then circle back here. Okay, now that you’re back, Baltimore voters will decide yes or no at the polls this fall on a new program that would provide $1,000 for new parents in the city. The program’s overall goal is to reduce childhood poverty starting at birth. Dubbed the ‘baby bonus,’ the measure, which was driven by the Maryland Child Alliance, hit the needed 10,000 signature threshold to get on the ballot. According to AP, the desired poverty reduction program models a similar one utilized in Flint, Michigan, and aims to reduce the 31% of school-aged children experiencing poverty in Baltimore, MD.

BIDEN SIGNS BIPARTISAN BILL ON PARKINSON'S INTO LAW: Cue the confetti because President Biden signed the bipartisan National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act into law. The law will focus on bringing together stakeholders across federal agencies with nonfederal experts, patients, and caregivers, to build out a national plan of attack for preventing, treating, and curing Parkinson’s Disease and the related diseases under its expansive umbrella. The law will also require a “convening of a Parkinson’s advisory committee.” The law is a major step in finding solutions, hope, and healing for a disease that impacts a large swath of Americans, and will follow in the footsteps of 2011’s National Alzheimer’s Act, driving research around treatments.

BALLOT DROP BOXES ARE BACK IN WISCONSIN THX TO LIBERAL COURT: And they say voting doesn’t matter… oh, but it does and it did in that state Supreme Court race not long ago in Wisconsin that flipped the tilt of the court liberal. As a result, and of a 4-3 decision by that court, secure absentee ballot drop boxes will be returning to use this election szn. So now Wisconsinites will be dusting those legal AF methods of voting off, and heading to the absentee ballot box in their communities [should that be the method that fits their needs] to make their swing state votes and voices heard. 

FTC VOTES TO PREVENT MEGA MATTRESS MONOPOLY: Look, we’re all up on the mattress store conspiracy theories, but this news is giving Queen energy. And that news is that the FTC blocked what would’ve been a merger between mattress giants – Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm. The no’s across the board from FTC was made possible by a lawsuit they filed claiming that the marriage of the two companies would suppress competition, raise prices, endanger jobs, and put companies out of business. This likely won’t be the end of the bed for this M&A deal per litigation that is expected to come from team big mattress, but a win is a win for now.

HGW LISTENS

Hit play on these pods

  • Three people, three different political POVS, having political discussions that cover opinions on all sides of the aisle is actually possible – even in 2024, and this episode of Both Sides of the Aisle is proof in the pudding.

ELECTION SZN 2024

Guides, chatter, who’s who

  • The internet and the Hill are alive with…chatter of whether Biden should stay in the race. It’s a scenario that Avril Lavigne would label complicated, especially when it comes to the campaign cash element. In the scenario where VP Harris were to take over and run for prez, this is what the campaign dollars element would potentially look like.

  • Election Szn = ballot proposition szn in California, with this year’s prop pages being filled to the gills, including props on same-sex marriage, school construction, climate programs, forced labor, shoplifting, and more.

  • Speaking of the joined TikTok crew, Austin Marsman, who’s running for state house in Michigan has popped on – meet him here.

MERCH ME UP

The Gov Club Merch Collection Drops New Additions

The Collection has been expanded from the classic Gov Club sweatshirt to include a cozy long sleeve t-shirt, a French terry navy crewneck, and a cutie lil’ crop top. Shop all of the options here.

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills 

FEDERAL: We’ve had some great bipartisan bill moments recently – this is not that, but it will make you laugh? Maybe? There’s the Refrigerator Freedom Act in play. The bill aims to block the Secretary of Energy from creating or enforcing energy conservation standards for fridges and freezers that aren’t “cost-effective” or “technologically-feasible” with the goal of protecting consumers from “burdensome” mandates. While opinions may range on the point and purpose of the Act, most likely all can agree that its name paints a truly absurd picture.

FEDERAL: Then there’s this bipartisan bill – the Alabama Underwater Forest National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act. The bill would designate the underwater forest of Cypress trees off the coast of the Gulf Shores, Alabama as a National Marine Sanctuary. This covers the “what would be banned” in the protected area v. not.

KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

  • Democracy Docket: Sen. Ossoff Urges DOJ and FBI to Take Action To Protect Election Workers

  • Politico Magazine: Abortion Rights Supporters Won’t Get Their Amendment Passed Without Republican Women Like Audrey McNiff

  • ABC 11: New North Carolina laws in effect include increased DMV and Wildlife service fees and more

  • NPR: Amid growing calls for Biden to pull out, congressional Democrats remain split

BOOKMARK IT

Don’t lose the link

BIDEN SUPPORT TRACKER: NPR is keeping track of which Dems are behind Biden, which ones are outtie, and which one are expressing concern for the status quo. Bookmark it and keep tabs on where support levels are at.

ADD TO CAL

Events on our radar

  • Project 2025 and all of its horrors and ‘heinous-ities’ will be front and center at tomorrow’s [July 9, 2024] event hosted by the Center for American Progress featuring the voices of members of Congress and more. RSVP here.

  • Keeping it virtual, the Brennan Center is hosting a discussion July 25, 2024 on the Insurrection Act and how its panelists think it needs to be changed. RSVP here.

  • Big Gretch aka Governor Whitmer will be talking about her new book, ‘True Gretch’ as part of the Martha’s Vineyard Author Series on July 27, 2024. Get tickets here.

BEFORE YOU GO…

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