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- The Gov Hub Newsletter: May 13, 2024
The Gov Hub Newsletter: May 13, 2024
Gov Hub
May 13, 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 – NEW YORK X GUN LAWS
The Ask: New Yorkers - tell your state reps to support two gun reform bills, S. 7365 & S. 9225.
The Action: Hit send on this note here.
The Background: Two bills are in the hopper in the NY state legislature focused on gun safety reform. The first – S. 7365 would update the state’s existing gun accountability law and would require gun manufacturers to ensure that their guns can’t easily be turned into machine guns [via Glock switches], and that those manufacturers could be held liable in court for failing to follow through on the regulation. S. 9225 would ban the future sale of semi-automatic handguns in the state.
ACTION 2 – VERMONT X INSECTICIDES
The Ask: Vermonters - tell Governor Scott to sign H. 706 and ban the use of neonicotinoid-treated seeds and the application of neonicotinoids to various plants.
The Action: Hit send on this note here.
The Background: The unpronounceable – neonicotinoids – are more toxic than your ex, and they’ve been used as a pesticide in Vermont, harming bees and the environment. The bill – H. 706 – to kick the chemicals to the curb in its current use, has passed the state legislature, and just needs the John Hancock of the governor.
ACTION 3 – SPONSORED BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF AGING
The Ask: Tell Congress to ensure FDA-approved anti-obesity medicines are covered for those over 65 on Medicare Part D.
The Action: Hit send on this note.
The Background: Turning 65 and going on Medicare should not mean not being able to access life-saving, game-changing anti-obesity medications. Right now, that’s the case if you’re going the Medicare route. Simply put, accessible, affordable treatment = preventing premature deaths, and more time with loved ones, an equation that needs to be made possible by Congress and the Biden-Harris Admin.
ACTION 3 – SPONSORED BY COALITION TO STRENGTHEN AMERICA’S HEALTH CARE
The Ask: Tell Congress not to reduce hospital funding and protect rural healthcare access.
The Action: Sign this petition.
The Background: The federal government pays hospitals just 84% of the cost of caring for our seniors under Medicare. And yet, some in Congress are calling for further reductions to Medicare hospital funding. When reductions happen, hospitals that are already navigating tough financial times, workforce shortages and soaring inflation are more likely to close, jeopardizing access to 24/7 care. Between 2010 and 2022, 143 rural hospitals closed — 19 of which occurred in 2020 alone. Congress needs to act and ensure healthcare access.
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
These three states will be voting in the presidential primary this week. And this state’s GOP Senate and Governor’s primary is real housewives on steroids, as is this state’s Democratic Senate primary.
Trying to keep up with Trump’s hush money x Stormy Daniels criminal trial is tough – even if true crime podcasts are your fave. This recap makes it easy to catch up.
Kristi Noem’s book tour keeps going from bad to worse to honestly whatever place is beyond ‘worse,’ with the latest scandal involving a faux segment of her book related to a meeting she claimed was on the books with France’s Emmanuel Macron. She also has managed to get herself banned by two more South Dakota tribes – meaning she’s banned from entering 20% of the state she represents.
Keeping up on scandals, jury selection begins today for Democratic Senator Bob Menendez’s corruption trial – well, this one. Nothin’ like bribes and gold bars.
On the weird nepo-baby front, after much hullabaloo last week, Baron Trump has declined an opportunity to serve as a Florida RNC delegate. So much for family traditions!
A Trump rally down the shore was well… exactly as one might think, featuring the ‘Trump Rally Superman’ and praise for Hannibal Lecter…?
HGW LISTENS
Hit play on these pods (and get on the list for this newsletter)
This ‘Montana Boy’ [Ryan Busse] is running for governor, and he shares what’s on the line, how young people are integral to his campaign, and the very best Montana recs [and a few podcast recs to listen to while campaigning too] on this episode of Girl and the Gov, The Podcast.
Understanding how the asylum process works in the US can be more confusing than Rudy Giuliani’s life choices. This six-minute episode of NPR Morning Edition breaks it down.
You thought you’d heard of every diet trend/fad/craze out there? Think again, because this episode of Plodding Through The Presidents covers The John Adams Diet, which is mostly WTF but apparently includes chocolate for breakfast. The real question – does it include Cookie Crisp <3
GOOD NEWS BEARS
Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]
PHOENIX GETS 47 ELECTRIC SCHOOLS BUSES: A short n’ sweet good news story – Phoenix, Arizona has begun to unveil its new fleet of 47 electric school buses, made possible by funding from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Fund vis à vis the Inflation Reduction Act. The new buses are a win for reducing air pollution, which in Phoenix is particularly potent. For context, the metro area was ranked the fifth worst in the country for Ozone pollution in 2023. P.S. happy Infrastructure Week.
FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL PASSED BY SENATE: She’s back – the FAA reauthorization bill was given the thumbs up, putting forth $105 billion to improve air travel safety, as well as customer service. Cue the bipartisan bell on this one, which is set to remedy shortages in air traffic controllers, up the numbers of safety inspectors at manufacturing facilities, mandate the use by the FAA of new tech that aims to prevent runway collisions, require new planes to have cockpit voice recorders [increased to 25 hours of audio], require refunds to customers for flight delays, and more. The full breakdown of what’s in the reauth can be found here, inclusive of a line on tracking high-altitude balloons [tbt to balloon-gate], and what comes next for the bill that can, here.
PAGE TURNERS
In honor of Kristi Noem’s sh*t storm of a book tour…
Political podcaster meets pundit, Brian Tyler Cohen’s book – Shameless, Republicans’ Deliberate Dysfunction and the Battle to Preserve Democracy – is available for pre-order.
Big Gretch has got a book – True Gretch – coming to shelves this summer, a deep dive into her career, which can be pre-ordered for beach/poolside/commute/anywhere you read books, reading.
White House comms legend turned MSNBC host Jen Psaki’s book – Say More, Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World – is a book you can read now to get a look at what it’s like to work in that iconic DC building.
BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T
Bills, bills, bills
FEDERAL: This bill is an immediate absolutely not, sit the F down, TYSM. It’s a bill introduced in the US Senate by Senators Britt [yes, weird State of the Union response girly pop], Rubio [“Little Marco” as the orange man calls him], and Cramer [not the Kramer from Seinfeld]. The bill is dubbed the MOMS Act or the more Opportunities for Moms to Succeed Act, and it would create a federal database to collect data on pregnant people – literally. Hidden amongst the ‘resources’ it would provide pregnant people, there’s little tidbit about the data collection [shoutout @ The Guardian for flagging it]. In addition, the ‘resources’ would not include any service that provides or advises in favor of abortions, so basically it would create a website that’s about pregnancy where a huge swath of OBGYNs wouldn’t even be able to be listed. Nice.
FEDERAL: If you’re not wiped out by reading about the bill above, let this word play about the WIPPES Act bring you back to life 😉 The bill, introduced by Michigan’s Rep. McClain [R] will have every biz in an old building with a sign in their bathroom saying ‘don’t flush anything but toilet paper for the love of God’ saying yes, please. The bill, if passed, would require the FTC to create regulations that would mandate that certain products would have to have ‘Do Not Flush’ labeling on their packages. It’s giving infrastructure protections, it’s giving water safety, and it’s giving environmental protection.
FEDERAL: Oh baby, we’ve got a bill! The Baby Food Safety Act of 2024, which was just brought to the table by Senators Duckworth [D] and Klobuchar [D], would enhance safety standards for commercial baby food and imported products, and give the FDA the authority to enforce these possible regs. It would also increase the required amount of testing for toxic heavy metals [ex: lead] by manufacturers.
BOOKMARK IT
Don’t lose the link
USAFACTS’ DEMOGRAPHIC DATA TRACKER: Perhaps we just loved a color-coded chart or graphic, but this tool from USAFacts certainly caught our eye. The tool allows users to explore changes in population and demographic trends in any state or county. These trends can inform policy, and they can spruce up a stale small talk convo with your friend of a friend of a friend who you get stuck talking to at a bridal shower. Bookmark it here.
Go viral
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KEY READS
Important stories from around the USA
Politico: She was at the Top of the State Department. Now She’s Ready to Talk.
CNN: Two former associates of Rep. Henry Cuellar agree to plea deal related to bribery case
ProPublica: IRS Audit of Trump Could Cost Former President More Than $100 Million
ATLAS
Stories from around the globe
BEFORE YOU GO
…say hello!
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