On February 4th, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2019-2 that would restructure the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), renaming it the “Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy”. The newly organized Department would include new offices of Climate and Energy, Clean Water Public Advocate and Environmental Justice Advocate.
The part of the Order that reportedly most concerned conservatives was the abolition of industry dominated panels created last year by legislation (opposed by MUUSJN) that could make decisions on permits and rules. The panels, which have the power to overrule decisions by the Department Director, were described by environmental activists as “polluter panels”.
On February 6th, the Michigan House (on a party-line vote) passed HCR 1 that would reject the Governor’s order. Reportedly, their main concern about Executive Order 2019-2 was that it eliminated industry dominated regulatory panels, the classic “Fox Guarding the Hen House”.
MUUSJN joined the League of Conservation Voters and other environmental groups to urge its statewide justice leaders to make phone calls to Michigan Senators to oppose the rollback of Gov. Whitmer’s proposed reforms.
HCR 1 is now in the Government Oversight Committee where there was robust discussion about this attempt to undermine environmental reform. A vote on HCR-1 was postponed until next Wednesday, February 13th. A staff from the League of Conservation Voters indicated that this delay was due the pressure of phone calls, emails and media coverage. Our phone calls are making a difference! But we need to continue to make more phone calls!
If you’d like to quickly send a message to your State Senator, click HERE.
(This is an electronic service provided by the League of Conservation Voters.)
President Donald Trump is doubling down on his demand for a $5.7 billion barrier between the U.S. and Mexico. He’s willing to shut down our government a second time to fulfill his campaign promise to build a wall on our southern border. More than two-thirds of Americans don’t think the wall should be a priority, according to a poll by NPR, PBS News Hour and Marist. Trump seems to be quite willing to declare a fake “National Disaster” to get what he wants. He would shake the foundations of our democracy. We must fight back!
A team of 17 members of Congress (click HERE for list) has begun negotiating for a budget settlement. However, President Trump has expressed doubt this Congressional group would secure adequate funding for his border wall. In this case, he has sworn to declare a “National Emergency” (provided for in the Constitution for a genuine national emergency) allowing the president to have powers to override Congress to allocate funding for his wall from another part of government. (Examples: Reallocate disaster funds for Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas, California for the wall.) Click HERE to read a disturbing essay from the Brennan Center for Justice on what a President can do if he declares a “National Emergency”. This dangerous precedent would surely be challenged in courts. Even Senator Mitch McConnell opposes taking this reckless step.
Call Senator Debbie Stabenow (202) 224-4822 and Senator Gary Peters (202) 224-6221 & at least one member of the Budget Committee (202) 224-3121 (Congressional Switchboard)
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama); Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV); Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND); Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO); Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Sen. Dick Durban (D-Ill); and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana).
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY); Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA); Rep. David Price (D-NC); Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA); Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX); Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA); Rep. Kaye Granger (R-TX); Rep. Chuck Fleischman (R-TN); Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA); Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi).
I’m proud to say that our Justice Network was part of a massive effort to tell members of Congress that:
On Friday, January 25th, Congress and President Trump finally got the message. We bombarded Senator Mitch McConnell’s office with demands for a vote on a clean bill without anti-immigrant provisions. We urged our own Senators to put pressure on McConnell. I suspect that when elected officials and their wealthy benefactors experienced delays in flying due to east coast air traffic controllers not showing up for work that too may have had an affect. The government shutdown became intolerable.
The House and the Senate quickly adopted the House’s continuing resolution (HJ Resolution 28) that would keep the government open until February 15th while a team of eight members of Congress were charged with negotiating an agreement on border security as part of a new spending bill for the Homeland Security Department. Click HERE for information about the branches of the federal government that have been shut down and now are re-opening until February 15th.
However, this right wing induced budget crisis isn’t over. President Trump has threatened that if the negotiators don’t secure funds for his wall by the new deadline, he would be forced to shut down the government again or to declare a national “emergency” to attempt to grant the President power to reallocate funding for his wall from other sources. Disaster relief funds for Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and California have been mentioned. It would be a dangerous precedent that would surely be challenged in courts. It would be outrageously immoral.
January 22nd marked the beginning of a second month of a record government shutdown over a budget dispute. In December, Congress had reached a bi-partisan agreement (supported by 100% of Senators) to keep the government open with a continuing resolution. Then Pres. Trump, pressured by right wingers, demanded over $5.7 billion for a wall on our southern border that the majority (63%) of Americans don’t want. Now, 800,000 federal government employees and their families have been working (or furloughed) without pay. They are becoming desperate without funds to put food on table, pay their mortgages or pay other bills.
In exchange for $5.7 billion to build his wall, President Trump and Republican Senators proposed opening the government with a deal that included some cruel strings:
A vote on this 1,031 page “compromise” bill introduced in the Senate Appropriations Committee, could happen by Thursday, January 24th. According to a recent article in today’s New York Times, this bill is not likely to have enough votes to pass. Click HERE for more information.
Call your Senators before this Thursday. Other impacts of the government shutdown are disturbing. Funding for subsidized housing and SNAP (Food Stamps) that benefit 38 million Americans is expected to stop by the end of January. Fortunately, the Secretary of Agriculture has taken steps to advance funding for February for SNAP and other nutrition programs such as school lunches and supplemental nutrition funding for the Women, Infants and Children program. For more information, click HERE. Low-income people are faced with a genuine crisis of either hunger, homelessness or both due to this immoral government shutdown.
The best solution is for the U.S. Senate to vote on bills to end the government shutdown adopted by the House. URGE OUR SENATORS to demand that Senator McConnell allow a vote on these bills so the government can reopen and so that debates can continue on what security should look like at our southern border.
President Trump has said this shutdown could last as long as it takes for him to get funding for the wall. He’s even said (click HERE for article in NY Times) this could be a matter of months or even years!! We the people need to restore sanity, to block the President from his efforts to grab more power and demand that Sen. McConnell allow a vote on a bill without cruel strings to fund and reopen the government — for the sake of workers, women, immigrant children, vulnerable families and America!
(DC & Louisville office phones are down due due to “high call volume”)
Tell Him: Allow a Senate Vote on House Bills (HR 21 & H J Resolution 1 for Homeland Security) End a Government Shutdown!
Click HERE for an article in the January 11th issue of the Washington Post “Mitch McConnell could end the shutdown, but he’s sitting this one out”. This article indicates that McConnell could “bring a ‘clean’ funding bill to the floor, free up his GOP caucus to support it and could possibly secure enough votes to override a Presidential veto”. He needs to feel pressure from the public and his fellow Senators.
Tell Them: Urge McConnell to ALLOW a vote on House Bills to End the Government Shutdown!
On January 12th, Congress broke a new record for how long our federal government has been shut down over a budget dispute. Congress had reached a bi-partisan agreement (supported by 100% of Senators) to keep the government open. Then Pres. Trump was pressured by right wingers to demand over $5.7 billion for a wall on our southern border that the majority (63%) of Americans don’t want. He’s used misinformation to argue that a wall is an effective way to keep out drugs, terrorists and immigrants. He’s even threatened to declare a (fake) “national emergency” to expand his presidential power so he can use disaster funds from Florida, Texas, California and Puerto Rico, to build a wall, regardless of what members of Congress or American citizens want!
800,000 federal workers have been working or staying home without pay. This impacts families’ ability to pay their mortgages or child care, to put food on the table or gas in their cars.
Failure to pass a federal budget is jeopardizing the lives of low-income families who will face hunger and homelessness when SNAP (Food Stamps) and subsidized housing payments end. The shutdown also is threatening the lives of women who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. These women desperately need a lifeline to critical services funded through the Justice Department’s Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA). Click HERE for a list of services in Michigan.
President Trump has said this shutdown could last as long as it takes for him to get funding for the wall. He’s even said (click HERE for article in NY Times) this could be a matter of months or even years!! We the people need to restore sanity, to block the President from his efforts to grab more power and demand that Sen. McConnell allow a vote to fund and reopen the government — for the sake of workers, women, vulnerable families and America.
This alert is posted on two MUUSJN Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/muusjn/
www.facebook.com/reproductionandjustice/
Go there and share
Women’s MARCH on Washington DC GET REGISTERED:
https://www.womensmarch.com/2019
Click HERE for Michigan Transportation to DC March
Michigan State University Union
49 Abbot Road, East Lansing
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
315 East Warren Avenue
The Diag at the University of Michigan
505 S. State Street
Calder Plaza,
315 Ottawa Ave. NW
Workshop Brewing,
221 Garland Street
Marquette Commons,
112 S. 3rd Street
Centennial Park,
250 Central Avenue
Beery Field,
South Main Street
Old Courthouse,
301 N. Main Street
(Click HERE for future updates on Sister marches)
MUUSJN supports participation in women’s marches as an affirmation of the worth and dignity of all women and their families. We affirm love, not hate, in human relationships. For more information, contact Nicole Breadon (248-980-8455) or Randy Block (248-549-5170)
The Violence Against Women Act Authorization Expired When the Government Shut Down
Our U.S. Representatives start their first day of work tomorrow (January 3rd) in the 116th Congressional session. Michigan’s four new U.S. Reps will get sworn in tomorrow morning: Elissa Slotkin (8th District); Rashida Tlaib (13th District); Andy Levin (9th District) and Rep. Haley Stevens (11th District). This is a perfect time to remind ALL members of Congress to end the government shutdown that is harming 800,000 federal workers and their families and is withholding funds from the Violence Against Women Act.
(These rallies are organized by Indivisible)
1. Thursday, January 3rd, 11 a.m. Congressman Bill Huizinga
"Accountability Rally",
4555 Wilson Ave.,
SW Grandville (near Grand Rapids)
2. Thursday, January 3rd, 8 a.m. IN THE THUMB
840 W. Frank Street, Caro
3. Saturday, January 5th, Livingston County Court House
200 E. Grand River Ave., Howell
4. Thursday, January 3rd. 10 a.m.,
Rep. Brenda Lawrence
26700 Lahser Rd., Suite 330, Southfield
5. January 3rd, 6:30 p.m., Who's House? Our House! Rally
Median,
9 Mile Road and Woodward Ave., Ferndale
THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: Games are being played with the lives of American federal workers. President Trump insists on playing hardball, keeping the government closed until he can get funding for a border wall that the majority of Americans don’t want.
THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT IS BEING HELD HOSTAGE TOO.Another victim of the government shutdown is the Violence Against Women Act. This landmark Act, first passed in 1994, aims to support women who’ve survived intimate partner violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in the U.S. through a series of government funded programs, e.g., shelters, crisis centers, legal assistance and more. Earlier this year, both Republicans and Democrats have urged that the act be reauthorized.
Be prepared to receive more action alerts from MUUSJN so we can help keep Congress more accountable to the people they serve. (Right now the Congressional switchboard doesn’t yet have phone numbers of new members of Congress.)
Quick Facts About the 12/21/18 Government Shutdown:
Employees from 9 federal departments were affected. More than 380,000 federal workers are on furlough (temporarily laid off without pay) and 420,000 forced to work without pay:
Since the shutdown on December 21st, workers’ anger is turning to fear they may not be able to buy food, pay their rent or pay the bills for other essential goods and services. This reflects a lack of respect for the people who serve their fellow Americans.
The issue: Games are being played with the lives of Americans — and with the safety of women. President Trump with Republican allies insists on playing hardball, keeping the government closed until he can get funding for a border wall. The White House Switchboard (1-202-456-1414) has an automated message that coldly blames a lack of staff to answer their phones on the government shutdown.
THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT IS BEING HELD HOSTAGE TOO. Another victim of the government shutdown is the Violence Against Women Act. This landmark Act, first passed in 1994, aims to support women who’ve survived intimate partner violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in the U.S. through a series of government funded programs, e.g., shelters, crisis centers, legal assistance and more. Future funding that would have extended the act until February 8th was included in the federal budget that the House and Senate failed to pass. The act has been expanded to address violence on campuses and toward the LGBTQ communities. Earlier this year, both Republicans and Democrats have urged that the act be reauthorized.
This protection for women is too important to held hostage by a battle over funding for a border wall that most Americans don’t want.
1. We Don’t Need $5 billion for Trump’s WALL. We Need More Humane Treatment for Immigrant Families. Recent surveys indicate that 57% of Americans oppose more funding for a border wall and 38% favor it. However, President Trump has brought down his demand for funding down from $5 to $2.5 billion.
2. No more games. Its time to make a deal. Work to end the government shutdown now. Let’s treat our federal employees with respect.
3. Reauthorize & Renew Funding for Violence Against Women. This could be done as a separate bill from the contentious budget bill. Urge your Senators and your Representative promptly move ahead with protecting women!
