The New Progressive Alliance periodically makes Public Comments by itself or with other organizations to federal agencies and legislative bodies in the United States and Canada in support of the Unified Platform. They are reproduced here in full and also briefly mentioned with our other activities in the Annual Reports and on our website under "News."
- Public Comment 191: January 2019 – Oregon Dept. State Lands-Stop Jordan Cove LNG
- Public Comment 192: January 2019 – NY Governor – Election Reform
- Public Comment 193: January 2019 – DOE - Hanford Nuclear Clean Up
- Public Comment 194: January 2019 – Reopen Government
- Public Comment 195: January 2019 – US Senate-Reopen Government
- Public Comment 196: February 2019 - Washington state Environmental Laws
- Public Comment 197: February 2019 - US HOR - HR1 free SEC
- Public Comment 198: February 2019 - Congress fund CDC
- Public Comment 199: March 2019 - Needed Changes for HR1
- Public Comment 200: March 2019 - US HOR - 3 Poison Pill Riders
- Public Comment 201: March 2019 - SEC - Greater Disclosure
- Public Comment 202: March 2019 - US HOR - Oppose 3 bad riders
- Public Comment 203: March 2019 - Congress Oppose Bad Policy Riders
- Public Comment 204: April 2019 - Congressional Leadership - Cut Funds ICE & CBP
- Public Comment 205: April 2019 - Congress control FERC
- Public Comment 206: June 2019 - Congress-DC Rights
- Public Comment 207: June 2019 - US HOR - Health Infrastructure
- Public Comment 208: July 2019 – US Senate - Allow SEC to Mandate Disclosure of Political Spending
- Public Comment 209: July 2019 - US HOR - SEC Force Disclosure Political Spending
- Public Comment 210: August 2019 - Congress - Amendment to Overturn Citizens United
- Public Comment 211: August 2019 - Puget Sound Clean Air Agency - Deny LNG Facility
- Public Comment 212: September 2019 – US HOR – Overturn Citizens United
- Public Comment 213: September 2019 – US HOR – Restrain FERC
- Public Comment 214: September 2019 – USAA leave ALEC
- Public Comment 215: September 2019 – US HOR – DC Statehood
- Public Comment 216: October 2019 – EPA-Keep Methane Restrictions
- Public Comment 217: October 2019 – SEC-Improve Disclosure
- Public Comment 218: October 2019 –Oppose Washington state I-976
- Public Comment 219: October 2019 – Congress pass clean budget
- Public Comment 220: November 2019 – DOS – No XL Pipeline
- Public Comment 221: November 2019 – IEA-Stop supporting fossil fuels
- Public Comment 222: November 2019 – DOA – No logging Tongass Forest
- Public Comment 223: December 2019 – Banks stop financing Fossil Fuels
Public Comment 191: January 2019 – Oregon Dept. State Lands-Stop Jordan Cove LNG
January 2, 2019
email [email protected]
Department of State Lands
775 Summer St. NE, Suite 100
Salem, OR 97301-1279
Subj: Jordan Cove LNG DSL Fill and Removal Permit Application APP0060697
The New Progressive Alliance at http://newprogs.org/ urges you to oppose the Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline and the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal. Not only will this be the largest source of climate pollution in Oregon, the bad effects extend far beyond the borders of Oregon.
The Jordan Cove LNG would transport fracked gas from the Canadian and US Rockies to the southern Oregon Coast, requiring the 229-mile Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline across private and public land. This would require taking private land through eminent domain. It would also necessitate a 95-foot wide clear-cut through southwest Oregon’s forests and farms.
The highly explosive export facility at the Port of Coos Bay would be located in a tsunami hazard zone, subjecting thousands of people to hazardous burns in the case of an accident. This project would pollute nearly 500 waterways, harm salmon habitat, impact hundreds of landowners, threaten tribal territories and burial grounds, raise energy prices, and become the largest source of climate pollution in Oregon. This would impact more than 485 rivers and streams, including the Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua, Coos, and Coquille Rivers. At each place where the 36-inch pipeline crosses waterways, the construction will harm habitat for fish and pollute clean water. The project would also require dredging out and fundamentally re-shaping the Coos Bay estuary.
Specific Adverse Effects:
-Cutting down streamside trees, resulting in warmer stream temperatures that harm fish;
-Disturbing and re-suspending toxic materials in and around waterways;
-Permanently destroying wetlands;
-Potentially releasing drilling chemicals and other contaminants into rivers and streams;
-Crossing the rivers and streams that are the drinking water source for 12 public drinking water systems and more than 116,000 Oregonians;
-Fundamentally altering the Coos Bay estuary, increasing murkiness and degrading habitat for salmon and shellfish, like oysters and clams;
-Modifying the navigation channel at Coos Bay that would interfere with the ability of the public to access these areas for fishing and recreation; and
-Increasing ship traffic in the navigation channel that could increase invasive species released through ballast or engine cooling water.
The answer is not natural gas obtained by fracking - "in essence, explode a pipe bomb a few thousand feet beneath the surface, fracturing the surrounding rock." Unregulated by the EPA because of congressional action combined with the support of Presidents Obama and Trump, companies refuse to even reveal the chemicals they are "fracking" with, nobody is monitoring the pollution to water and our aquifiers, and nobody is factoring the release of methane as a GHG. Of the 750 chemicals that can be used in the fracking process, more than 650 of them are toxic or carcinogens, according to a report filed with the U.S. House of Representatives in April 2011.
See references 60, 63, 150, 183, 194, 220, 244, 280, 288, 296, 301, 303, 345, 355, 359, 370, 374 - 377, 404, 410, 414, 434, 456, 475, 483, 521, 542 - 544, 594, 602, 639, 683 - 689, 712, 713, 715 - 718, 734 - 736, 745, 746, 776, 815 - 824, 845, 846, 929 - 941, 989, 1052 - 1071, 1166 - 1173, 1345-1362, 1557, 1560-1561, 1576-1583, 1668-1669, 1687-1689, 1724, 1731, 1783-1787, 1937-1957, 2133-2139, 2249, 2317, 2421-2436, 2558-2564, 2598, 2667, 2747, 2776-2787, 2980-2982, 3168, 3170, 3171, 3187, 3222-3236, 3347, 3494-3496, 3507, 3853-3860, 3920, 4022, 4029, 4101, 4102, 4173 of this reference: http://www.newprogs.org/the_environment_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
For the reasons stated in this letter the New Progressive Alliance respectfully requests the Oregon Department of State Lands deny the removal-fill permit and to oppose the Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline and the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal.
Public Comment 192: January 2019 – NY Governor – Election Reform
January 4, 2019
Dear Governor Cuomo:
New York has an unprecedented opportunity to lead the nation -- quite literally -- on campaign finance reform, with a small donor matching system. We write to request your help.
As you know, Speaker Pelosi and key leaders in Congress are spearheading an effort to make democracy reforms the first bill in the 116th Congress. In a November 25 oped in the Washington Post, entitled, “The Democratic Majority Will Restore Democracy,” Pelosi and Representative Sarbanes wrote: “Americans went to the polls and sent a powerful message: The election not only was a resounding verdict against Republicans' assault on Americans' health care and wages, but also it was a vote to rescue our broken democracy.
First among the democracy-rescuing reforms they described was campaign finance reform:
We must also empower hard-working Americans in our democracy by building a 21st-century campaign-finance system - combining small-donor incentives and matching support to increase and multiply the power of small donors. Wealthy special interests shouldn't be able to buy more influence than the workers, consumers, and families who should be our priority in Washington.
We know you are aware of voter hunger for reform, and we know you believe in amplifying the power of small donors to limit the power of big money in our politics. You've called for it every year you've been in office.
With Democrats taking over the U.S. House of Representatives, the nation is heading down the track that New York is already on. The destination is a new era of democracy reforms such as small donor public financing, automatic voter registration, and early voting. New York, under your leadership, can get there first, and in so doing provide a boost to the broader national effort.
That is precisely why we write. Show the nation how it can be done. Inspire Congress and give something to candidates to point to in 2020. We'll work hard to pass a federal bill in the U.S. House this month. We then hope to look to New York as a model for the nation.
Luckily, you are not alone. You have two legislative leaders who have sponsored small donor matching system bills. You also have us, and many others hoping to see this happen.
Please let us know how we can help you help the rest of the country.
Sincerely,
African American Ministers in Action
American Family Voices
Arab American Institute
Ben & Jerry’s
Brennan
Center for Justice
Campaign for America’s Future
Center for Popular Democracy
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Cleanup Carl
Clean Water Action
Color of Change
Common Cause
Concerned Citizens For Change
CREDO Action
Daily Kos
Democracy Initiative
Democracy Matters
Democracy 21
Demos
End Citizens United –Fight for Reform
Equal Citizens
Every Voice
Food & Water Watch
Franciscan Action Network
Free Speech For People
Friends of the Earth
Greenpeace
Indivisible
Left Action
Main Street Alliance
MapLight
MAYDAY America
MoveOn 3
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
National Council of Jewish Women
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
New Progressive Alliance
Our Revolution
People Demanding Action
People For the American Way
People’s Action
Presente.org
Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Progressive Turnout Project
Public Citizen
SEIU
Sierra Club
Stand Up America
Sunrise Movement
Transformative Justice Coalition
Unitarian Universalist Association
Voter Rights Action
Public Comment 193: January 2019 – DOE - Hanford Nuclear Clean Up
January 8, 2019
Department of Energy
Subj: Clean Up Hanford Nuclear
The New Progressive Alliance at http://newprogs.org/ joins Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson in urging you to reject a new plan to reclassify nuclear waste. It would allow the federal government to walk away from its obligation to clean up millions of gallons of toxic, radioactive waste at the Hanford, Washington Nuclear Facility.
We in Washington state did not shrink from our patriotic duty and supported the making of our country’s nuclear arsenal. Hanford’s underground tank waste is the deadly legacy of a half-century of plutonium production for the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Hanford tanks hold 60 percent of the nation’s most dangerous nuclear waste.
The half-life of the main fuel, U-235, is 703.8 million years. Plutonium is also routinely created in the process of running a nuclear plant. It is highly toxic and its various isotopes have half-lives ranging from about 25,000 to 80 million years. These extremely dangerous substances will require secure storage and protection for a very long period of time and we do not have an agreed upon place to store or agreed way to transport nuclear waste. Changing it from high level to low level waste is unfair to tribal leaders, Hanford workers, public safety officials, and surrounding communities.
Over half a century of experience throughout the world indicates nuclear energy is not the answer. It is the most expensive, the most delayed, and dangerous. See references 65, 70, 89, 103, 125, 126, 131, 223, 274, 344, 364, 378 - 380, 406 - 408, 412, 435 - 439, 484, 485, 519, 520, 558 - 565, 582 - 585, 603, 604, 692 - 705, 719, 720, 747 - 749, 834 - 836, 847, 848, 891, 942 - 963, 1072 - 1077, 1175 - 1196, 1320, 1364 - 1382, 1584-1591, 1690-1692, 1774, 1789, 1823-1834, 1964-1970, 2140-2147, 2235-2241, 2258, 2440-2455, 2508, 2565-2571, 2788-2817, 3081, 3237-3271, 3344-3346, 3509-3515, 3521, 3567, 3862-3871, 4030-4033, 4103-4105, 4174 of the article “The Environment” at http://www.newprogs.org/the_environment_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
Please do the right thing and keep the government promise that has been made for decades to clean up Hanford.
Public Comment 194: January 2019 – Reopen Government
The New Progressive Alliance with over 280 other organizations wrote the President and Congress about the adverse health impacts of the government shutdown.
January 17, 2019
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
With the partial government shutdown nearing the four-week point, the undersigned organizations call on Congress and the President to immediately reopen the government to minimize any further impact on the public’s health and wellbeing. Several agencies’ ability to provide critical services, ranging from food and environmental risk inspections to health services, have already been drastically reduced or are threatened if the shutdown continues.
We fear a prolonged shutdown will cause needless suffering and have long-lasting health consequences. Basic health protections could be endangered by an ongoing shutdown. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is suspending its routine food inspections except at “high-risk facilities,” and its ability to enforce food safety rules may be sharply impaired as 40 percent of its workforce is furloughed. The FDA oversees 80 percent of the food supply, and regular inspections and enforcement help stop foodborne illness before people get sick. The FDA also will not be able to assess new drug and device applications if the shutdown continues, meaning life-saving innovations will take longer to come to market.
There are also increased environmental risks to the health of the public. The Environmental Protection Agency has suspended its inspections of chemical factories, power plants and water treatment operations while the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is no longer investigating and assessing environmental health threats.
The shutdown is having cascading impacts on the public’s health through loss of income and potential cuts to programs that families rely on for health and economic stability. Access to nutrition and food assistance, breastfeeding support and infant nutrition through U.S. Department of Agriculture programs is critical to maintaining health and performance in school and work. Programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) are at serious risk of benefit cuts if the shutdown continues. And 800,000 Americans are furloughed or working without paychecks, which puts their ability to pay rent and utilities, access medicines, and put food on the table in jeopardy. Residents simply cannot maintain their health without stable housing, food and medical care. Indian Country has been disproportionately impacted by the shutdown, which is curtailing health care and programs for American Indian communities. The Indian Health Service (IHS) receives its funding through the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, so tribal governments are cutting other services and scraping together scarce dollars to keep health clinics operational in the short term. Many HIS employees working without pay are already reportedly looking for other jobs, which would be a huge blow to an agency that has great difficulty recruiting and retaining medical professionals in rural and remote 2 areas. The shutdown is destabilizing Native health delivery and health care provider access, as well as destabilizing tribal governments, families, children and individuals. Services will be cut and serious consequences to health and safety will be the result if the shut down is not ended soon.
A prolonged shutdown will continue to put the health and safety of the nation’s residents at risk. It is vital that Congress and the President work to reopen the government as soon as possible to minimize the effects of the impasse.
Sincerely,
1,000 Days
100 Million Healthier Lives
Advocates for Better Children's Diets
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
AJ Rosen & Associates LLC
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Dental Research
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
American College Health Association (ACHA)
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Physicians
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Diabetes Association
American Lung Association
American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
American Medical Women's Association
American Muslim Health Professionals
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
American Society for Nutrition
American Thoracic Society
Arlington Food Assistance Center
Asian Health Coalition
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian Pacific Liver Center
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL)
Asian Services In Action, Inc. (ASIA, Inc.)
Association for Accredited Public Health Programs
Association for Clinical and Translational Science
Association for Psychological Science
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Autism Society of America
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
A World Fit For Kids!
Bailey House, Inc.
Benzie Leelanau District Health Department
Berean Wellness & Community Support Center
Big Cities Health Coalition
Blue Hills Community Health Network Alliance (CHNA 20)
Boulder County Public Health
Bronx Health REACH
Brookline Public Health and Human Services
Brooklyn Coalition for Health Equity for Women and Families
CA4Health
California Food Policy Advocates
California Immunization Coalition
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Public Health Association
North Cause Engagement Associates
Center for Health and Learning
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
Center for Policy Analysis
Center for Population Health at Xavier University
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Ceres Community Project
Change Lab Solutions
Chicagol and Equity Network
Children's Environmental Health Network (CEHN)
Children's Health Fund
Children’s Mental Health Network
City-County Health District
Claremont Healthy Village Initiative
CLASP
CLEAR Corps Detroit
Climate for Health (ecoAmerica)
Clinical Immunology Society
Clinical Research Forum
Coalition for Clinical and Translational Science
Coalition for Disability Health Equity
Coalition for Health Funding
Coalition for National Health Education Organizations
Coalition on Human Needs
Colorado Children's Campaign
Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service
Community Benefit Consulting
Community Healthworx
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Cuyahoga County Board of Health
Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association
District Health Department No. 2
District Health Department No. 4
Doctors for America
Dorchester County Health Department
Element Health, Inc.
Equality California
Evanston Health Advisory Council
Family Solutions
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Georgia Society for Public Health Education
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality
Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice
Government Accountability Project
Grand Traverse County Health Department
Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health
Harm Reduction Coalition
Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center
Hawaii Public Health Institute
Health Care for America Now
Health Connect One
Health Department of Northwest Michigan
Health, Education and Legal Assistance Project: A Medical-Legal Partnership
Health Education Partners
Health Foundation of South Florida
Health Reimagined
Health Resources in Action
Healthy Communities Wyandotte
Healthy Kinder International
Healthy Schools Campaign
Hepatitis B Foundation
Hepatitis Education Project
Hep B United
Hep Free Hawai‘i
Hispanic Health Initiatives, Inc.
HIV Medicine Association
Hope Whispers Community Organization Inc.
Human Impact Partners
Human Rights Campaign
iHealth
Immunization Action Coalition
Immunize Nevada Impetus -Let's Get Started LLC
Improving Kids’ Environments
Indigescuela
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Innovative Solutions for Disadvantage and Disability, Inc.
Iowa Hunger Coalition
Iowa Public Health Association
Jefferson County (Colorado) Health Department
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Johnson County Public Health
Joy-Southfield Community Development Corporation
Just God Academy
Justice in Aging
Lanai Community Health Center
-Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy, Teachers College Columbia University
-Liver Health Initiative
Louisiana Public Health Association
Louisiana Public Health Institute
Lung Cancer Alliance
Maine Public Health Association
March of Dimes
Mary Catherine Jones Consulting, LLC
Maryland Partnership for Prevention, Inc.
Mendocino County AIDS/Viral Hepatitis Network
Mental Health America of Kentucky
Metro St. Louis Coalition for Inclusion and Equity (M-SLICE)
Minority Outreach Coalition
MomsRising
Monona County Public Health
Mount Moriah Baptist Church –Omaha
MPHI
NAACP
NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Association for Health and Fitness
National Association of Community Health Centers
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of County and City Health Officials
(NACCHO)
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of School Nurses
National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)
National Black Justice Coalition
National Black Nurses Association
National Center for Healthy Housing
National Coalition of STD Directors
National Collaborative for Health Equity
National Consumers League
National Council of Jewish Women
National Environmental Health Association
National Health Foundation
National Health Law Program
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Institute for Children's Health Quality (NICHQ)
National League for Nursing
National Medical Association
National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Physicians Alliance
National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives
National REACH Coalition
National Recreation and Park Association
National WIC Association
National Women's Health Network
National Women's Law Center
National Working Positive Coalition
Native American Connections
Nebraska Action Coalition
Future of Nursing
Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility of United Church of Christ
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Jersey Association of County & City Health Officials
New Jersey Public Health Association
New Jersey Society for Public Health Education (NJ SOPHE)
New Mexico Department of Health, State of New Mexico
New Progressive Alliance
New York City Health + Hospitals
NM Pediatric Society
North Bergen Health Department
North Carolina Community Health Center Association
North Montgomery Communities for Prosperity (M-CUP)
Nurse-Family Partnership
Obesity Action
Coalition
Ohio Consumers for Health Coverage Coalition
Ohio Public Health Association
OpenBiome, Inc.
Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility
PFLAG National
Philadelphia Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility, AZ Chapter
Physicians for Social Responsibility, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Prevention Institute
Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC)
Public Citizen
Public Health Consultancy
Public Health Foundation
Public Health Institute
Public Justice Center
Rachel Carson Council
Religious Institute
Respiratory Health Association
River Stone Health
Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition
Safe States Alliance
School Social Work Association of America
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Shoals Community Clinic
Society for Prevention Research
Society for Public Health Education
Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education
Somos Familia Valle
South Central Family Health Center
St. Mary's Center
Street Level Health Project
-Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at George Washington
University
-Suncoast Health Council, Inc.
Team HBV Collegiate Chapters
Tennessee Health Care Campaign
Tennessee Justice Center
Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility
The Arizona Partnership for Immunization
The Center for Health Innovation
The Consortium
The Immunization Partnership
The Los Angeles Trust for Children's Health
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease
The Praxis Project
The Prevent Cancer Foundation
The Pride Center at Equality Park
The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Three Peas in a Pod
Thrive At Life: Working Solutions
TimeBanks USA
Training Resources Network, Inc.
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
Tri-County Health Department
Trust for America’s Health
United States Breastfeeding Committee
Vaccinate Your Family
Valley AIDS Council
Washington County Public Health
Washington State Department of Health
-Wayne State University Center for Health and Community Impact
-Weight Watchers of Las Vegas
Wellco
West Valley Neighborhoods Coalition
WISE Health
Within Our Reach
Worry Free Community
Zero to Three
Public Comment 195: January 2019 – US Senate-Reopen Government
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Senate Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Jan. 23, 2019
Dear Majority Leader McConnell,
We, the undersigned organizations, ask that you bring to the U.S. Senate floor legislation that immediately reopens the federal government, extends funding for all agencies closed or partially closed during the government shutdown and excludes any of the extraneous requests demanded by President Donald Trump on immigration or funding for his proposed southern border wall.
We also urge you and members of your caucus to vote in favor of such legislation to end the partial shutdown that has disrupted the lives and livelihoods of 800,000 federal workers and contract workers around the country, their families and their communities – and inflicted tens of billions of dollars of damage on our environment and economy.
Furthermore, we urge you, your Republican colleagues and President Trump to abandon the strategy of taking legislative hostages that harm ordinary people in our country to achieve policy goals opposed by a large majority of voters. This is extortion, plain and simple. It is outrageously undemocratic and a betrayal of the American people.
Sincerely,
Adirondack Wildlife Refuge and Rehabilitation
Alaska Wilderness League
Allied Progress
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Federation of Teachers
Center for American Progress
Center for Popular Democracy
Center for Progressive Reform
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Clean Water Action
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Communications Workers of America
Consumer Federation of America
Defenders of Wildlife
Demos
Earthjustice
Earthworks
Economic Policy Institute
Endangered Species Coalition
Environmental Working Group
First Person Politics
Food & Water Watch
Friends of the Earth
Greenpeace
Health Justice Innovations
Healthy Babies Healthy Families
Herd on the Hill
Hispanic Federation
Interfaith Worker Justice
Labor of Love Safety Training and Consulting
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
League of Conservation Voters
Los Padres ForestWatch
Main Street Alliance
Maine AFL-CIO
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Association of Consumer Advocates
National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients)
National Consumers League
National Council of Jewish Women
National Employment Law Project
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Immigration Law Center
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women's Law Center
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Jersey Association on Correction
New Progressive Alliance
Oxfam America
PAI
Partnership for Policy Integrity
Partnership for the Public Good
People For the American Way
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Pride Center of Staten Island, Inc.
Public Citizen
Public Justice Center
Rachel Carson Council
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United
Rhode Island Committee on Occupational Safety and Health
SafeWork Washington
Sciencecorps
Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Sierra Club
Southern Border Communities Coalition
Truman National Security Project
UndocuBlack Network
United Steelworkers
United We Dream
Voices for Progress
The Wilderness Society
The Worker Institute at Cornell University’s ILR School
Workplace Fairness
Public Comment 196: February 2019 - Washington state Environmental Laws
February 1, 2019
The state of Washington is moving ahead in many environmental legislative actions. Carbon Washington is a longtime ally of the New Progressive Alliance (see Allies http://www.newprogs.org/allies) and is pushing these laws.
- 100% Clean Electricity SB5116 and HB1211
- Low Carbon Fuel Standard HB1110
- Advancing Electric Transportation SB5336
- Increasing buildings energy efficiency SB5293
- Appliance Efficiency Standards HB1444
- Increases state targets for emission reductions to match Paris Accords HB1113
- Phases in bans on hydrofluorocarbons, a serious source of greenhouse gas HB112 SB5426
Details about supporting these laws can be found at the Carbon Washington website. https://carbonwa.org/
Public Comment 197: February 2019 - US HOR - HR1 free SEC
February 8, 2019
Members of the 116th Congress
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Member,
Today, our democracy is out of balance, and that makes it harder to solve the big problems facing our country and our communities. Our current system allows powerful corporate and wealthy interests to regularly defy the foundational principles of fairness, equity, ethics, accountability, and respect for the rule of law, with the unfortunate result being a government that is more responsive and accountable to wealthy political donors than to the public. The great news is that right now we have a real opportunity to move solutions that work.
We, the undersigned organizations, support the efforts by Members of Congress to restore balance to our democracy through the sweeping new reform package, the For the People Act, or H.R. 1.
We are writing now to call your attention to the provisions in the For the People Act that would shine light on the out-of-control secret corporate influence in our democracy, which has become so pervasive since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC. When this detrimental decision came down in 2010, it opened up the floodgates for corporations to spend unlimited undisclosed amounts of money to influence American elections and in turn affect policy outcomes. Noting the danger of “dark money” for both American democracy and the shareholders of the companies that are spending in secret, a strong coalition of diverse allies has been working together since the decision to bring corporate spending in politics into the light.
The Supreme Court’s decision to give corporations the right under the First Amendment to spend unlimited funds from their corporate treasuries to support or attack candidates is troubling and investors concerned about the value of their investments and citizens concerned about the future of American democracy have looked to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take action and require disclosure of public companies’ political spending.
Without direction from the SEC, there are no rules or procedures established in the United States to ensure that shareholders – those who actually own the wealth of corporations – are informed of, or have the right to approve, decisions on spending their money on politics. Investors want more disclosure in order to make sound investment decisions. That is why 1.2 million comments- the most in the agency’s history- have come into the SEC on the corporate political spending disclosure rulemaking petition from diverse stakeholders including the late founder of Vanguard, John Bogle, five state treasurers, a bipartisan group of former SEC chairs and commissioners, and investment professionals representing $690 billion in assets.
Currently, the SEC is barred from finalizing the corporate political spending disclosure rulemaking due to a poison pill policy rider inappropriately included in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. We, the undersigned organizations, believe the SEC should be allowed to and encouraged to move forward with the rulemaking that would require public companies to disclose to their shareholders and the public how they spend money in politics. This information is material to investors- the constituency the SEC is responsible for protecting. Among its many critical reforms, the For the People Act strikes this harmful policy rider from the Appropriations bill. It also includes other important disclosure provisions such as closing loopholes that allow foreign money to disrupt our elections and shining a light on who is funding digital political ads.
Our organizations support this sweeping reform package, as it works to make it easier, not harder to vote, end the dominance of big money in our politics, and ensure that public officials truly work for the public. We encourage Members of Congress to support this legislation. Our democracy cannot wait any longer.
Sincerely,
Boston Common Asset Management
Campaign for Accountability
Common Cause
Democracy 21
Domini Impact Investments LLC
End Citizens United Action Fund
Franciscan Action Network
Greenpeace
Harrington Investments, Inc.
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
International Corporate Accountability Roundtable
League of Women Voters of the United States
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate JPIC Office
MomsRising
National Association of Social Workers
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Progressive Alliance
NorthStar Asset Management, Inc.
Patriotic Millionaires People Demanding Action
People for the American Way
Poligon Education Fund
Pride at Work
Progressive Turnout
Project Public Citizen
Union of Concerned Scientists
Unitarian Universalist Association
Voices for Progress
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
Public Comment 198: February 2019 - Congress fund CDC
Despite increasing health problems such as the Flint water crisis and an outbreak of measles in Washington state, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is being steadily decreased. The New Progressive Alliance with the below organizations asks that CDC be adequately funded.
February 12, 2019
American life expectancy has declined, largely due to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, suicides, and drug overdoses. CDC funds state and local public health efforts to prevent these diseases—and more, not less, is needed. Federal investment in public health has not kept pace with inflation nor the considerable challenges posed by infectious disease outbreaks, extreme weather events, and other emergencies, such as the Flint water crisis.
According to a 2017 report by the Trust for America’s Health, of the $3.5trillion spent annually on healthcare, only three percent of all health spending is directed to public health, which includes federal, state, and local resources. That equates to an average of $280 per person. By contrast, total healthcare spending is $10,739 per person.
Reductions in the public health workforce strain the ability of state and local public health departments to protect and promote population health. From 2012-2016, the estimated number of full-time health agency employees decreased by three percent. By 2020, the percentage of health agency employees who are eligible for retirement will reach 25 percent.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Academy Health
Adult Congenital Heart Association
Advocates for Better Children's Diets
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Association for Dental Research
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of Poison Control Centers
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Diabetes Association
American Heart Association
American Lung Association
American Public Health Association
American School Health Association
American Sexual Health Association
American Society for Microbiology
American Society of Hematology
Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)
Big Cities Health Coalition
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Children's Hospital Colorado
Clear Way Minnesota
Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials
Cooley's Anemia Foundation
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Counter Tools
Epilepsy Foundation
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
Health Resources in Action
Healthy Schools Network
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
Immunize Nevada
Impetus -Let's Get Started LLC
Intermountain Public Health Consulting, LLC
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Jeffrey Modell Foundation
Kymm Ballard Consulting & Asst. Professor at Campbell University
LIVESTRONG
March of Dimes
Maryland Public Health Association
NACDD
NAPHSIS
NASTAD
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Epilepsy Centers
National Association of School Nurses
National Coalition of STD Directors
National Hemophilia Foundation
New Progressive Alliance
North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)
Pitkin County Public Health
Prevent Blindness
Prevention Institute
Public Health Institute
Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness
Sage Transformations
SAS
Society for Public Health Education
Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education
Stewards of Change
The AIDS Institute
The Ayuda Foundation/Island Girl Power GUAM
The Institute for Family Health/Bronx Health REACH
The National REACH Coalition
Tobacco Control Network
Triage Cancer
Trust for America's Health
Women Heart
YMCA of the US
Public Comment 199: March 2019 - Needed Changes for HR1
Green Party Presidential Candidate Sedinam Curry today called on Congress to make significant changes in House Democrats' legislative centerpiece HR1, the "For The People 2019 Act", particularly in the portions of the Act having to do with campaign matching funds.
"While there is a great deal of good in this legislation, making voting more accessible and more secure; laying the groundwork to overturn the horrible Citizens United v. FEC decision; strengthening our system of public financing of elections; and more, there are a couple of very serious problems with the bill," Moyowasiza-Curry explained, "and I urge members of the House of Representatives who really do care about making our political system more democratic to fix those flaws before voting on this legislation."
Foremost among the problems are significant increases to the fundraising thresholds for candidates to qualify for Federal matching funds. "Increasing the threshold for qualifying for Federal matching funds for Presidential candidates from $5000 per state to $25,000 per state in a minimum of 20 states will throw a huge barrier in the way of political parties other than the 'major' parties, who don't even participate in the funding system anymore. The public has shown so many times that they want more options, and legislation to make our system more democratic should not at the same time make us less democratic," Moyowasiza-Curry noted.
Moyowasiza-Curry applauded the bill's extension of the Federal matching fund system to races for the US House of Representatives, but noted that this, too, is flawed. "At the same time that the bill tries to make more of our political system free from the influence of money, it puts financial barriers in the way." HR 1 would open Federal matching funds to House candidates who raise at least $50,000 from at least 1000 different donors. "Candidates running outside the 'big 2' are the ones who need this assistance the most, but many of them have a hard time raising even a fraction of that limit. This is not the way to bring more voices into our political conversation."
A few very simple fixes to the bill would make the playing field much more level for third party and independent candidates at both the House and Presidential level, said Moyowasiza-Curry campaign adviser Eric Siegel, a political scientist and pollster based in Oak Park, Michigan. "Keeping the Presidential threshold at $5,000 each in at least 20 states would ensure that campaigns get the boost they need to organize and get their message out, without putting an undue burden on them. And a $5,000 floor for House candidates would maintain the requirement that they show a breadth of support without putting yet another artificial barrier in the way of candidates from outside the traditionally dominant parties. Political science research tells us that more candidate choice leads to higher turnout, and this bill is mostly designed to encourage people to join the process. Why undermine that mission by restricting voters' options?"
Sedinam Moyowasiza-Curry is a declared candidate for the nomination for President of the Green Party of the United States. She ran for the GPUS Presidential nomination in 2016, and for the Vice-Presidential nomination in 2008. She is a longtime Green, and was a co-founder of the Green Party's Black Caucus. To find out more about her 2020 Presidential campaign, visit Sedinam2020.
Public Comment 200: March 2019 -US HOR - 3 Poison Pill Riders
March 2019
Majority Members
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
H-307 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chair Lowey and Majority Members of the Committee:
We the undersigned 28 groups write to urge you to ensure three troubling anti- democracy riders from the 2019 spending package do not make it into the 2020 spending bill.
These three poison pill policy riders that protect a democratic system rigged in favor of wealthy special interests are all expressly removed from any future Appropriations bills by H.R. 1, the For the People Act. Following the resounding passage of H.R. 1 by all Democrats in the House there is now a clear mandate for the removal of these riders from the FY2020 Appropriations bill.
Today, our democracy is out of balance, and that makes it harder to solve the big problems facing our country and our communities. Our current system allows powerful corporate and wealthy interests to regularly defy the foundational principles of fairness, equity, ethics, accountability, and respect for the rule of law, with the unfortunate result being a government that is more responsive and accountable to wealthy political donors than to the public. In order to restore balance to our democracy we need to use all of the tools at our disposal. That is why we are writing to draw your attention to three poison pill policy riders that have been snuck into the appropriations process that stymie this progress.
The first rider prevents the Treasury department and the IRS from enacting a sensible definition of political activity that would reduce abuse by those willing to manipulate the system to spend secret money in elections. The second would tie the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission from finalizing rules that would reveal how big donors and corporations are spending in our elections. The third prohibits federal contractors from being required to disclose their political spending.
The riders, discussed in more detail below, help entrench a political system rigged in favor of wealthy special interests by blocking common-sense transparency rules and maintaining avenues for special interests to secretly influence elections.
- Sec. 124 – Preventing the IRS and Treasury from making better rules for 501(c)(4) political activity
This rider prevents the Treasury department from adequately defining what
nonprofits can and can’t do in elections. Without clear guidance, groups wanting
to spend in elections without disclosing their donors can abuse the system free of
consequences.
- Sec. 629 – Preventing the SEC from making a rule requiring corporations to disclose political spending
This rider stops the SEC from finalizing a rule requiring public companies to
disclose their political spending. In his decision in Citizens United, the Supreme
Court decision that opened the flood gates for unlimited corporate spending in our
elections, Justice Anthony Kennedy assumed that prompt internet disclosures
would be the norm. However, this rider stops the type of critical disclosure regime
Justice Kennedy envisioned from being implemented and deprives investors and
the public of critical information on corporate political activity.
- Sec. 735 – Preventing disclosure of political spending by government contractors
The American people have a right to know whether the companies doing their
business are being awarded contracts simply because they give big campaign
donations.
We appreciate your attention to this important matter, and look forward to your proposal of a funding package free from these damaging measures.
Sincerely,
20/20 Vision
American Atheists
American Family Voices
Boston Common Asset Management
California Clean Money Action Fund
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Media and Democracy
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Clean Elections Texas
Coalition to Preserve, Protect & Defend
Common Cause
Democracy 21
End Citizens United Action Fund
Franciscan Action Network
Harrington Investments
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
League of Women Voters of the United States
MAYDAY America
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics
New Progressive Alliance
Open the Government
Patriotic Millionaires
People For the American Way
Progressive Leadership Initiative
Public Citizen
Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, US Province
Voices for Progress
Public Comment 201: March 2019 - SEC - Greater Disclosure
March 20, 2019
Chair Jay Clayton
Commissioners Securities and Exchange Commission
c/o Brent J. Fields
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20549- -1090
Via electronic mail ([email protected])
Re: Quarterly Reports, File No. 33-10588
Re: Comments for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) November 15, 2018 Roundtable on the Proxy Process - File Number 4-725
Dear Officers,
The signatories below welcome the opportunity to comment in response to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) request for comment on “earnings releases and quarterly reports.” In summary, we urge the SEC to heed the many investor calls for greater disclosure, including political spending, and general environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
The SEC’s current exercise follows a comment from President Trump who questioned the value of quarterly reporting. Trump referenced Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi, who lamented the focus on short-term results.[1]
Generally, we are concerned with a recurring effort at the SEC to reduce disclosure. The only voices supporting such a reduction are corporations. Investors, by contrast, continue to seek greater disclosure. For example, shareholders filed resolutions at 80 companies in 2018 calling for greater disclosure of political spending. More than 1.2 million citizens have signed a petition calling on the SEC to require political spending disclosure. More than 26,500 individuals submitted comments in response to its 2016 Concept Release on Business and Financial Disclosure Required by Regulation S-K and the overwhelming majority supported more and better disclosure in general.[2] Finally, investors representing more than $5 trillion in assets under management filed a new petition in October 2018 for greater disclosure regarding the environment, social and governance issues. (File Number 4-730), generating more than 3,300 comments to date. [3] Again, the investing public seeks greater disclosure, not less.
We recognize the problem of short-termism, of “quarterly capitalism,” of the failure by managers to adopt a long-term perspective needed to grow the economy sustainably. We believe this problem stems not from the frequency of reporting, but from the structure of compensation. Consider what happened to the added income generated by the Trump corporate tax cut measure. Instead of resulting in greater investment or better wages for employees, the most conspicuous expenditures came through buybacks. In turn, these buybacks benefitted managers whose compensation turned on the value of stock options. Compensation pegged to short term stock prices is determined by boards of directors. Should a company wish to adopt a long-term perspective, these boards should structure compensation accordingly.
Sincerely,
Allied Progress
Boston Common Asset Management
Jantz Management LLC
New Progressive Alliance
Public Citizen
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
[1] Owusu, Tony. Outgoing PepsiCo CEO Clarifies Position on Frequency of Financial Reports. TheStreet
(Aug. 17, 2018.) https://www.thestreet.com/politics/outgoing-pepsico-ceo-clarifies-position-on-frequency-of-earnings-reports-14686696
[2] Tyler Gellasch, Toward a Sustainable Economy, AFL-CIO, Public Citizen and others (September 2016) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/583f3fca725e25fcd45aa446/t/5866d3c0725e25a97292ae03/1483133890503/Sustainable-Economy-report-final.pd
[3] Letter to SEC from petitioners, Securities and Exchange Commission (October 1, 2018) https://www.sec.gov/rules/petitions/2018/petn4-730.pdf
Public Comment 202: March 2019 - US HOR - Oppose 3 bad riders
Majority Members
Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
H-307 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chair Lowey and Majority Members of the Committee:
We the undersigned 28 groups write to urge you to ensure three troubling anti- democracy riders from the 2019 spending package do not make it into the 2020 spending bill. These three poison pill policy riders that protect a democratic system rigged in favor of wealthy special interests are all expressly removed from any future Appropriations bills by H.R. 1, the For the People Act. Following the resounding passage of H.R. 1 by all Democrats in the House there is now a clear mandate for the removal of these riders from the FY2020 Appropriations bill.
Today, our democracy is out of balance, and that makes it harder to solve the big problems facing our country and our communities. Our current system allows powerful corporate and wealthy interests to regularly defy the foundational principles of fairness, equity, ethics, accountability, and respect for the rule of law, with the unfortunate result being a government that is more responsive and accountable to wealthy political donors than to the public. In order to restore balance to our democracy we need to use all of the tools at our disposal. That is why we are writing to draw your attention to three poison pill policy riders that have been snuck into the appropriations process that stymie this progress.
The first rider prevents the Treasury department and the IRS from enacting a sensible definition of political activity that would reduce abuse by those willing to manipulate the system to spend secret money in elections.
The second would tie the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission from finalizing rules that would reveal how big donors and corporations are spending in our elections.
The third prohibits federal contractors from being required to disclose their political spending.
The riders, discussed in more detail below, help entrench a political system rigged in favor of wealthy special interests by blocking common-sense transparency rules and maintaining avenues for special interests to secretly influence elections.
- Sec. 124 – Preventing the IRS and Treasury from making better rules for 501(c)(4) political activity. This rider prevents the Treasury department from adequately defining what nonprofits can and can’t do in elections. Without clear guidance, groups wanting to spend in elections without disclosing their donors can abuse the system free of consequences.
- Sec. 629 – Preventing the SEC from making a rule requiring corporations to disclose political spending.This rider stops the SEC from finalizing a rule requiring public companies to disclose their political spending. In his decision in Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that opened the flood gates for unlimited corporate spending in our elections, Justice Anthony Kennedy assumed that prompt internet disclosures would be the norm. However, this rider stops the type of critical disclosure regime Justice Kennedy envisioned from being implemented and deprives investors and the public of critical information on corporate political activity.
- Sec. 735 – Preventing disclosure of political spending by government contractors. The American people have a right to know whether the companies doing their business are being awarded contracts simply because they give big campaign donations.
We appreciate your attention to this important matter, and look forward to your proposal of a funding package free from these damaging measures.
Sincerely,
20/20 Vision
American Atheists
American Family Voices
Boston Common Asset Management
California Clean Money Action Fund
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Media and Democracy
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Clean Elections Texas
Coalition to Preserve, Protect & Defend
Common Cause
Democracy 21
End Citizens United Action Fund
Franciscan Action Network
Harrington Investments
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
League of Women Voters of the United States
MAYDAY America
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics
New Progressive Alliance
Open the Government
Patriotic Millionaires
People For the American Way
Progressive Leadership Initiative
Public Citizen
Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, US Province
Voices for Progress
Public Comment 203: March 2019 - Congress Oppose Bad Policy Riders
March 29, 2019
Dear Member of Congress,
The Clean Budget Coalition, an alliance of labor, scientific, consumer, research, good government, faith, civil rights, community, health, environmental, and public interest groups, writes you to urge FY20 appropriations bills that are free from poison pill policy riders that harm the public.
No appropriations titles, package of bills, or continuing resolutions (should that be deemed the appropriate path to continue funding the government) should move forward if they contain poison pill policy riders that go against the public interest.
Unfortunately, such poison pill riders have existed as favors to corporate and special interests in previous appropriations cycles, and therefore a set of “legacy poison pills” must be removed from the FY20 appropriations bills. We ask that you take that stance as Congress processes the FY20 appropriations bills—keeping out new poison pills that harm the public and removing those that have become embedded.
Poison pill riders are unpopular and dangerous, and the public opposes the abuse of the budget process to roll back public protections. The budget should be funding the things that Americans care about, not undoing essential safeguards. The American people support policies to:
- Ensure safe and healthy food and products;
- Restrain Wall Street abuses;
- Secure our air, land, water and wildlife;
- Safeguard fair and safe workplaces;
- Guard against consumer rip-offs and corporate wrongdoing;
- Defend our campaign finance and election systems;
- Promote economic fairness in banking, housing and business;
- Provide access to justice and fair housing;
- Protect human and civil rights, including the rights of immigrants; and
- Guarantee continued access to vital health care services including comprehensive reproductive health care, among other things.
The public does not support slipping damaging poison pills into must-pass appropriations bills that would undo any of these protections as a means to win approval.
We urge Members of Congress to fully fund important programs and to reject any flawed bills that fail to remove poison pill policy riders that would undo essential public safeguards.
Sincerely,
20/20 Vision
AFL-CIO
AFSCME
Alaska Wilderness Action
American Association for Justice
American Bird Conservatory
Americans for Financial Reform
Animal Wellness Action
Austistic Self Advocacy Network
Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Center for American Progress
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Coalition on Human Needs
Coalition for Health Funding
Common Cause
Communications Workers of America
Consumer Federation of America
Defenders of Wildlife
Democracy 21
Earthjustice
Endangered Species Coalition
GreenLatinos
Greenpeace USA
Harrington Investments, Inc.
Humane Society Legislative Fund
Impact Fund
Innovative Green Builders
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
International Fund for Animal Welfare
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
League of Conservation Voters
Main Street Alliance
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Association for College Admission Counseling
National Association of Consumer Advocates
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Community Reinvestment Coalition
National Council of Jewish Women
National Employment Law Project
National Employment Lawyers Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Law Center
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Jersey Association on Correction
New Progressive Alliance
Ocean Conservancy
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
People for the American Way
People’s Action
Public Citizen
Public Knowledge
Rachel Carson Council
Safe Climate Campaign
SEIU
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
Sierra Club
Union of Concerned Scientists
The United State of Women
U.S. PIRG
Voices for Progress
The Wilderness Society
Woodstock Institute
Public Comment 204: April 2019 - Congressional Leadership - Cut Funds ICE & CBP
The Honorable Mike Enzi The Honorable John Yarmuth
Chair, Senate Budget Committee Chair, House Budget Committee
379 Russell Senate Office Building 402 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Bernie Sanders The Honorable Steve Womack
Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member, House Budget Committee
332 Dirksen Senate Office Building 2412 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Enzi, Ranking Member Sanders, Chairman Yarmuth, and Ranking Member Womack:
We the undersigned national, state, and local organizations support significant cuts in funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agencies behind President Trump’s harmful detention, deportation and border militarization regime.
We are disappointed by the funding increases in the Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations Bill and call upon Congress to commit to reducing funding for this administration’s white nationalist border militarization and immigration enforcement policies. Taxpayer dollars should be spent on critical programs that make our communities strong and vibrant such as education, healthcare, green infrastructure, and housing rather than fueling abusive agencies that terrorize communities and separate families.
The Trump Administration showed the depths of its cruelty toward immigrant communities in fiscal year 2018. Just at our southern border, Border Patrol agents have forcibly separated thousands of families, tear-gassed asylum seekers including toddlers, and regularly flouted international law by denying the right to seek asylum at the border. This abuse is happening despite the fact that the total number of border apprehensions are at the lowest point in decades and each Border Patrol agent apprehends, on average, fewer than 2 people a month. Deplorable conditions and inadequate medical care in border facilities also contributed to the tragic deaths of two young children, Jakelin Caal Maquin and Felipe Alonzo-Gomez. The border wall has a devastating toll on border communities, wildlife and the environment. President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency shows the administration’s dedication to fear mongering around a manufactured crisis that is built on racist lies and disregard for U.S. and international law.
ICE has continued to grow its vast network of over 200 detention centers, perfecting the agency’s multi-year tactic of overspending its appropriated funds and then repeatedly demanding that Congress bail it out with increased funding for the next year. This gradual ramp up resulted in a historic high in mid-February, of over 49,000 individuals jailed by ICE each day. As ICE expands, more people are dying in ICE custody because of medical neglect, abuse, and a total lack of concern for the value of immigrant lives. ICE also continues to target parents of unaccompanied children, ramp up workplace raids, collude with USCIS to detain people attending biometrics appointments, and arrest people at courthouses all in an attempt to terrorize communities and force them into the shadows.
We are deeply disappointed with the passing of the 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act because it increases funding to both ICE and CBP, including a 12% increase for immigration detention and $1.375 billion for more border wall, and fails to rein in the agencies’ ability to overspend and siphon money from other accounts. This increase in funding is wholly undeserved due to both agencies’ track records of harmful policies, abuse, and mismanagement. As such, this increase in funding is tacit approval of this administration’s attacks on immigrant communities across the country and those newly arriving at our borders and ports of entry.
As we look forward to fiscal year 2020, we urge Members of Congress to view the budget as a moral document that reflects our priorities and values as a nation. Congress must invest in programs and agencies that uphold our shared values of dignity and justice and divest from programs and agencies that flout those values at every opportunity. It is unacceptable to claim support for immigrant communities while continuing to grow the already inflated budgets for ICE and CBP.
We, the undersigned organizations, call on you to demonstrate bold leadership and commit to reducing funds to ICE and CBP for fiscal year 2020.
cc: Majority Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Chairman Shelby, Vice Chairman Leahy, Chairwoman Lowey, and Ranking Member Granger
Signed,
National Organizations:
Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus
Alianza Americas
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) A
sian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Center for Popular Democracy
Christian Community Development Association
Church World Service
Conference of Superiors of Men (Catholic)
Congregation of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces
Detention Watch Network
Daily Kos
Densho
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)
Dominicans of Sinsinawa
Earth Justice
EqualVoteLocal
Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM)
Faith in Action
Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement
Free Migration Project
Freedom for Immigrants
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Fuerza Mundial Global
GreenLatinos
Habonim Dror North America
Health Care for America Now (HCAN)
Health Justice Innovations, LLC
Hope Border Institute/Instituto Fronterizo Esperanza
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Immigration Hub
Indivisible
Jobs With Justice
Justice Strategies
Latin America Working Group
LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF
MomsRising
MoveOn
Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC)
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Immigration Law Center
National Justice for Our Neighbors
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) National Network for Arab American Communities
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
NETWORK Lobby
New Progressive Alliance
New Sanctuary Coalition
Provincial Council Clerics of St. Viator
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Service Employees International Union
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Shut Tornillo Down Coalition
Sierra Club
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas - Institute Justice Team
Sisters of Mercy South Central Community
Socialist Alternative
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
South East Asian Faith Initiative
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
Southern Border Communities Coalition
Southern Poverty Law Center
T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The Workmen's Circle
Trans empowerment project
UltraViolet
UndocuBlack Network
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
United We Dream
Uri L'tzedek
Woodstock Institute
Workplace Fairness
Yemeni American Merchants Association – YAMA
State and Local Organizations:
NW Philadelphia Immigrant Action and Mobilization
Adelante Alabama Worker Center
Adhikaar
Advocate Visitors with Immigrants in Detention in the Chihuahuan Desert
AFSC Colorado
Alianza Sacramento
Amend Law LLC
American Gateways
Arab American Association of New York
Arizona Jews for Justice
Asian American Organizing Project
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA
Asian Counseling and Referral Service
Asian Pacific Community in Action
AVIDCD
Border Patrol Victims Network
Buddhist Cohort-Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice
Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC, Inc.
Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) DC
Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America -CRLN
Children's Defense Fund - Texas
Church of Our Saviour/La Iglesia de Nuestro Salvador
Church Women United in New York State
Cleveland Jobs with Justice
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Comunidades Unidas en una Voz
Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee
DMV Sanctuary Congregation Network
Don't Separate Families
DRUM: Desis Rising Up and Moving
Dutchess County Progressive Action Alliance Immigration Justice Action Team
El Refugio
Eleven 11 Consulting
End Domestic Abuse WI
End Family Separation and Detention
Faith in action Bay Area
Faith in Indiana
Faith in New York
Faith in Texas
First Friends of NJ & NY
Florence Area Democratic Club
Friends of Broward Detainees
Friends of Miami-Dade Detainees
Georgia Detention Watch
Granite State Organizing Project
H-CAN Immigration and Refugee action group
HANA Center
HIAS Pennsylvania
Hilton Head for Peace
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Immigrant Justice Action Group, First Unitarian Portland
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
Immigration Committee, Congregation Hakafa
Indivisible for Immigration
Indivisible Vashon
Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Institute of Chicanx Psychology
Inter-faith Coalition on Immigration
Interfaith Welcome Coalition
ISAIAH
Japanese American Citizens League - Seattle
Jews for Racial & Economic Justice
Kids for College
La Union Hace La Fuerza
Laredo Immigrant Alliance
Latinos Unidos Siempre
Legal Services for Children
Lents Strong Housing
Mainers for Accountable Leadership
Make the Road NY
Make the Road PA
Massachusetts Communities Action Network
Migrant Center for Human Rights
Migrant Justice / Justicia Migrante
MinKwon Center for Community Action
Mission Presbytery Immigration Task Force-Texas
Missouri Faith Voices, A Faith in Action Federation
Multnomah Friends Meeting (Quakers)
Network Against Racism and Islamophobia-Portland
New Mexico Immigrant Law Center
New York Immigration Coalition
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
NM CAFe
North West Philly Immigration and Mobilization
Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights
OneAmerica
Orange County Congregation Community Organization
Pangea Legal Services
Pennsylvania Council of Churches
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
Pittsburgh LCLAA
Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (PCASC)
Portland Jobs With Justice
Public Counsel
Queens Neighborhoods United
Quixote Center, Inc.
RAICES
Reformed Church of Highland Park
Rouser
Rural and Migrant Ministry
Rural Organizing Project
Sacramento Area Congregations Together
Shut Down Etowah
South Asian Workers' Center
South Texas Human Rights Center
St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America (IFCLA)
STEP UP! Sacramento
Suneater
Together Colorado
Trinity Episcopal Church
United Valley Interfaith Project
UnLocal
Vashon - Maury SURJ ~ Showing Up for Racial Justice
VELA
Vermont Interfaith Action
Voz Workers' Rights Education Project
Washington Defender Association's Immigration Project
Wayne Action for Racial Equality
Public Comment 205 - April 2019 - Congress control FERC
Dear members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate,
It is with increasing frequency and growing magnitude, that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) is abusing its authority and the law in alarming ways. After three decades of FERC’s unaccountable and irresponsible approach to energy development, the trust of the American people has been strained beyond the breaking point. And, to be honest, our trust that Congress wants to fix the problem is withering. We are hopeful that you will prove us wrong and become a champion for the kind of meaningful reform that is truly needed.
We are urging you to lead a call for Congressional hearings into the abuses of power and law being inflicted by FERC, infringing on property rights, states’ right, peoples’ rights, and environmental protection. We have assembled a dossier to document FERC’s abuses and brought representatives of beleaguered communities from across the nation to share their experiences in a Peoples Hearing held in Washington DC. Our findings demonstrate that Congressional hearings and investigation are needed.
We are urging you to be a lead voice opposing legislative rollbacks when it comes to review and/or approval of natural gas infrastructure. And we are asking you to champion meaningful reforms that will prevent ongoing and future abuses of power and law by FERC. As it currently stands, the language of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) is being misused by FERC to deny people their legal and constitutional rights, to strip and undermine the legal authority of states, to undermine the authority of other federal agencies, to ignore the mandates of the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, to trample private property rights, to take from communities the protection
of public parks, forests and conserved lands that they have invested heavily in protecting, to take jobs and destroy small businesses, to inflict on our communities health, safety and environmental harms, all for the benefit of a single industry seeking to advance its own corporate profits and business edge over its competitors.
With this letter, we are identifying for you the meaningful reforms that are needed. Recent pronouncements of soft ball legislative proposals will not remedy the abuses communities are suffering. Legislative proposals that are only focused on the public participation process of FERC and not the taking of the judicial, legal, state, property, or environmental rights we have been highlighting are simply not good enough. Soft ball legislative reforms that don’t go to the root of the problems we have been alerting you to will not receive our praise or support. A legislative proposal that is not a true legislative fix is an anathema to us.
These are among the reforms we need:
First and foremost, we need to remove the authority for review and approval of pipelines and other natural gas infrastructure from FERC. With this remedy many of the fixes listed below become no longer necessary.
FERC has demonstrated its bias toward the natural gas infrastructure industry. The abuses and problems are so ingrained reform will be difficult if possible. The most effective approach would be to remove the power of pipeline and LNG approval from FERC and place it in the hands of another agency, one that has clean energy, community and environmental protection goals as its priority mandate, and will do the cumulative and holistic review and decision-making, including prioritizing the clean energy options that are needed to protect communities, protect the environment, and minimize climate changing emissions.
If FERC retains authority over natural gas infrastructure including pipelines and LNG exports, then all of the below fixes are necessary because of the highly biased and abusive way FERC implements current laws including the Natural Gas Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act and others.
Remove the Power of Eminent Domain from FERC authority.
The ability of FERC to give the power of eminent domain to private pipeline companies must be removed. There is no shortage of power in this nation now or in the foreseeable future. In addition, we have viable and growing clean energy pathways to follow, pipeline projects are routinely advanced to support corporate interests and goals rather than public benefit or need, and an increasing number of pipeline infrastructure projects are to serve the export of gas to overseas nations. Given all of these facts, the Commission has no business allowing a private company to use eminent domain for a self-serving project at the expense of American property rights. If a project is not good enough to curry the favor of landowners then it should not be powerful enough to take their property rights.
Remove language that results in preemption of state or local laws or authority for FERC regulated infrastructure projects.
A fundamental underpinning of our nation is respect for the rights of states to govern within their boundaries and to ensure the protection of the health, safety and welfare of their people. States’ rights are carefully honored throughout our nation’s laws and history. Stripping states and municipalities of their legal authority, particularly given the tremendous health, safety and economic harms pipelines inflict on communities is not justified. In addition, there is no reason that natural gas pipeline projects should not be subject to the same laws that all other industries are subject to, and that other arms of the energy industry must comply with. To exempt interstate natural gas infrastructure from the state and local laws that apply to every other industry gives them an inappropriate competitive advantage. This respect for the rights of states to take leadership in the protection of their citizens is carefully recognized and provided for in the area of environmental protection, particularly the implementation of the Clean Water Act.
Clarify the law to make clear that there is no time limit on the state review and approval process regarding FERC regulated infrastructure, including in the context of Clean Water Act 401 Certifications.
Another important change necessary to ensure full and fair respect of states’ rights and authority when it comes to protecting the residents and environments within their state boundaries is ensuring states are given all the time they need to ensure that state water quality standards will be protected if a pipeline is approved for construction within their state boundaries. The Natural Gas Act needs to be clear that states are entitled to all of the time they deem necessary to engage in full review and decision-making on FERC regulated pipeline and infrastructure projects, particularly in the context of implementing Clean Water Act authorities (which for most states is the 401 Water Quality Certification and for states like New Jersey also includes 404 wetlands determinations). The law needs to be clear that state authority is only waived when the state renders an affirmative decision that they are waiving their authority.
Prohibit FERC from approving a pipeline infrastructure project and/or allowing it to proceed with any element of construction until all state and federal reviews/permit processes have been finalized and approvals/permits granted.
Currently, FERC approves pipelines and allows them to proceed through phases of construction and eminent domain regardless of whether or not they have received all necessary reviews and approvals from impacted states who have a legal decision-making role and other federal agencies. Consequently, pipelines have proceeded with the power of eminent domain and significant construction that inflicts irreparable harm on property, economic and environmental interests. The law needs to make clear that FERC cannot approve a project and allow it to proceed with any element of eminent domain or construction until all state and federal reviews/permit processes have been finalized and approvals/permits granted.
If you are unwilling to put in place this comment sense reform then other approaches for addressing the concern could include:
-Clarify the law to make clear that State Section 401 Clean Water Act approvals have primacy in the FERC review and approval process. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act specifically reads: “no [federal] license or permit shall be granted until the certification required by this section has been granted or waived.” 33 U.S.C. § 1341(a)(1). Requiring Section 401 certification from the states prior to federal action ensures that states’ rights are honored, that state standards are met, and that public and private resources are not unnecessarily lost. It also ensures that the federal government is held accountable to the same standards as private entities, an important point of equity. FERC routinely issues Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity prior to state decision-making on 401 Certifications for FERC pipeline and infrastructure projects. The result is to undermine state authority, and in some instances, has resulted in the taking of property rights, and damage to business, jobs and the environment for construction of a pipeline that a state ultimate rejected. 401 primacy prevents such an irreversibly harmful outcome. If the mandate that 401 Certification must be received prior to FERC providing NGA Certification is not enacted/clarified within the language of the NGA, then it must be clear that FERC cannot approve any element of eminent domain or construction until all state reviews/permit processes have been finalized and approvals/permits granted, including but not limited to 401 Certification.
-Ensure Full Applicability of all Federal Laws. Currently, FERC approves pipelines and allows them to proceed through phases of construction and eminent domain regardless of whether or not they have received all necessary reviews and approvals from other agencies, such as wetland permits from the US Army Corps or completed endangered species review from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The law needs to make clear that FERC cannot approve a project and allow it to proceed with any element of eminent domain or construction until all state and federal reviews/permit processes have been finalized and approvals/permits granted.
The law should be reformed to require a genuine demonstration of need for a natural gas pipeline infrastructure project.
FERC routinely accepts false or inappropriate claims/demonstrations of need for pipeline infrastructure proposals. As a result, the law needs to be reformed to ensure that a full, fair and legitimate need, one that cannot be fulfilled by clean energy technologies, is demonstrated before a pipeline can even be considered for FERC Certification.
Currently,
-Pipeline companies routinely assert “need” for a project because it will lower costs, improve profits or enhance the ability to compete with others in the gas and/or pipeline industry. These assertions demonstrate corporate goals and desires. None of these scenarios demonstrate public needs that warrant the economic, environmental or property rights harms inflicted by a project and so should be explicitly prohibited.
-Pipeline companies routinely assert need by presenting contracts for pipeline capacity that are from related corporate entities, as such they use their own connected operations to put forth an unverified claim of genuine need. Pipeline companies should be prohibited from engaging in self-dealing in need demonstration – no contractual indealing should be allowed for manufacturing need, i.e. company cannot claim it needs a new pipeline for a gas source that is itself or some subsidiary self or related company that is, in fact, just another form of itself.
-Pipeline companies routinely assert need so the company can tap into an alternative source of gas, regardless that there is no threat to the source for their business use, it is simply a preferred business option. Preferred business operations of this kind should not be allowed for asserting need.
-Pipeline company claims that end of pipeline communities “need” their gas are often debunked by experts in the field who are quickly ignored by FERC in their reviews. Expert reports challenging company claims of need should be given primacy in the review process, rather than being disregarded if in conflict with pipeline claims.
-“Need” considerations uniformly focus on the end goal of securing gas, rather than focusing on the end goal of securing energy. This means that clean energy or other viable alternatives are ignored in the FERC review and approval process. Consideration of need must focus on “energy” needs of the end users and require full and fair consideration of whether clean energy alternatives could fulfill the need for energy identified. Proof of need should include a mandated demonstration that renewable strategy cannot be used to fulfill energy goal being asserted.
- Demonstration of need must be based on more than assertion that a pipeline or export facility has customers, it needs to demonstrate a genuine end-use need that cannot be fulfilled by renewable options;
Revisions of law are needed to address all of these scenarios as none of them demonstrate public needs that warrant the economic, environmental or property rights harms inflicted by a project and so should be explicitly prohibited.
The law needs to be reformed to ensure legitimate, and independently verified
demonstrations of need are provided for FERC review and consideration. Pipeline
companies must be required to demonstrate a genuine end-use need that cannot be fulfilled by renewable options.
The use of Tolling Orders by FERC to undermine individual, community and states’ rights should be prohibited.
Under federal law, a private party is not allowed to legally challenge FERC approval of a
pipeline project until they have first submitted a rehearing request to FERC, and FERC has affirmatively granted or denied that request. Rather than do one or the other, FERC’s practice is to issue a “tolling order” in response to such requests, which temporarily grants the request but only “for further consideration”. As a result, the public’s ability to challenge the FERC decision is put into legal limbo until such time as FERC renders and issues its final decision regarding the rehearing request. It is common for FERC to place people in this legal limbo for up to a year or more, while allowing the pipeline company to advance its project, take property, and begin construction.
Much to the shock of legislators, states and communities, tolling orders are routinely used by FERC to place people in legal limbo, unable to challenge a FERC approval of a natural gas infrastructure project even when the Commission has allowed the company to use the power of eminent domain to take property rights and is approving construction and operation of project sections. Tolling orders are demonstrably unfair and simply wrong, and deprive people, communities and states of their legal right to challenge FERC regulated infrastructure projects before they take property rights by eminent domain or inflict irreparable harm on communities and the environment.
As a result:
-Tolling orders should be prohibited. Quite simply the NGA should be reformed to mandate that FERC must respond to rehearing requests within 30 days and if they fail to do so the rehearing request is deemed denied.
If tolling orders are not prohibited then the other most legally equitable mechanism for addressing the problem is to:
-Prohibit projects from advancing in any way, shape or form, including eminent domain and/or construction, if there is an outstanding rehearing request/tolling order;
Mandate Meaningful Consideration of Climate Change in Pipeline Review and Decision-making.
As FERC Commissioner Glick has stated several times:
“Climate change poses an existential threat to our security, economy, environment, and, ultimately, the health of individual citizens. Unlike many of the challenges that our society faces, we know with certainty what causes climate change: It is the result of GHG emissions, including carbon dioxide and methane, which can be released in large quantities through the production and consumption of natural gas. Congress determined under the NGA that no entity may transport natural gas interstate, or construct or expand interstate natural gas facilities, without the Commission first determining the activity is in the public interest. This requires the Commission to find, on balance, that a project’s benefits outweigh the harms, including the environmental impacts from climate change that result from authorizing additional transportation. Accordingly, it is critical that, as an agency of the federal government, the Commission comply with its statutory responsibility to document and consider how its authorization of a natural gas pipeline facility will lead to the emission of GHGs, contributing to the existential threat of climate change.”1
Despite this well stated position of Commissioner Richard Glick, and despite the fact that federal courts have ordered FERC to consider the climate changing impacts of pipelines and associated infrastructure, FERC has taken the position that it does not need to undertake meaningful climate change reviews or take climate change impacts into consideration in their decision-making.
As a result, it is vitally important that the law be reformed to make clear that FERC’s “public interest” duty pursuant to the Natural Gas Act does in fact mandate consideration of the climate change impacts of pipeline infrastructure. In order to fully and properly implement this reform, legislative reforms must mandate, and include, all of the following, that:
-FERC conduct a full accounting of the climate changing impacts of any proposed pipeline infrastructure, and
1 Statement of Commissioner Richard Glick on Texas Eastern Transmission, LP, FERC Docket No. CP18-10, July 19, 2018.
-that this analysis must include a full and robust Social Cost of Carbon analysis, and
-that this analysis must include both the downstream end uses of the gas to be carried through the pipeline as well as the climate change contributions of the upstream extraction operations necessary to secure the gas that would flow through the proposed pipeline and/or infrastructure under review (including associated drilling and fracking operations, tree removal, associated trucking and industrial operations), and
-that if it is demonstrated that there is a significant climate change impact that will result, FERC “must”/”shall” deny FERC Certification for the project.
Instill Mandatory penalties and stop work orders for violations during construction, operation, and maintenance that are commensurate with the level of harm inflicted. Violations by pipeline companies during construction, operation and maintenance are routine, with hundreds documented for a single project. Also documented is FERC’s failure to ever (never) issue a civil penalty or stop work order to address the violations. As a result, it is more cost beneficial for a pipeline company to ignore environmental protection laws than to comply with them. In addition, violations are reviewed by FERC in terms of company response, rather than magnitude of the severity of the incident. The law mandating penalties needs the level of penalty assessed to be based upon the severity of the environmental and community harm inflicted.
There should be a ban put in place on Liquefied Natural Gas Exports.
If the goal of drilling and fracking is truly energy independence, that end goal is not served through exports. In addition, the level of community harm and sacrifice is too great for an energy supply that is then shipped overseas to support foreign nations, industries and users.
Mandate full and fair application of NEPA and prevent any rollback of this important and iconic information and review legislation. Among the clarifying and confirming provisions required:
-Clarity on prohibition against segmentation and provide an expansive definition of that term;
-Express obligation to ensure cumulative impact reviews and give that term an expansive definition;
-Ensure review includes consideration of the fracking/drilling/shale gas extraction that a project induces and/or supports and the end uses of the gas whether it be a new power plant, export, industrial, residential;
-Ensure consideration of alternatives not limited to alternate routes but includes alternative ways to create the energy that is asserted as needed;
-Mandate robust health and safety impact analyses and prohibit projects that will adversely impact health and/or safety of a community/region.
-Heightened scrutiny of affiliate relationships, wherein regulated utilities are the pipeline customers while their affiliates are investing as pipeline developers. Here's recent Congressional testimony on this particular issue: tinyurl.com/Peress-6-14-16
Provisions need to be placed in the law that ensure an appropriate level of accountability and oversight of the agency to both Congress and the people of the United States.
Provisions should include:
-Prohibit FERC’s use of third party consultants with actual or potential bias.
-Change structure of FERC commissioners – add a public representative Commissioner position.
-Mandate removal of Commissioners that are demonstrated to engage in any degree of conflict in their decision-making.
-Prohibit Commissioners or other agency staff from working for the pipeline, oil or gas industry, or any of their legal, messaging, lobbying or other related representatives, for a period of 5 years prior to, and a period of 5 years post, their employment with the agency. -Require a public advocate be appointed for each pipeline that is representative of environmental resources, property owners, public land interests that will be impacted by the project.
-Put in place stronger requirements for information disclosure and timelines by which info has to be released.
-Mandate Commissioners provide public hearing opportunities before them, as a body, before final decision-making;
-Mandate FERC use latest science in analysis and decision-making;
-Prohibit waivers, variations and/or changes to a project after its application been submitted for review by FERC; if changes are proposed mandate the new proposal be subject to the full agency and public review and approval process.
-Add an environmental justice standard, including community involvement, for pipeline projects that are within a 10 mile proximity of an environmental justice community.
-Prohibit self interest in FERC staff and Commissioners:
-Prohibit investments in companies regulating,
- Prohibit Commissioners or staff from being involved in decisions that benefit directly or indirectly the staff, Commissioner, their families or professional colleagues. ---Mandate public hearings during NEPA process that are within 20 miles of any community that will be impacted by a proposed project;
-Mandate minimum 120 days to comment on any FERC NEPA documents or proposed project approvals.
Require leadership from FERC for renewables:
-change FERC’s mission to include priority obligation to advance renewables;
-seek a way to mandate/incorporate approval of the renewable energy option if it can be demonstrated to fulfill the claimed energy need being advanced by the pipeline company. -mandate FERC carry out a robust climate change analysis and if approval of a project demonstrates it will contribute climate change emissions and cannot demonstrate (when considering cradle to grave impacts of the source and/or end use of the gas) it will improve climate change conditions then FERC is mandated to reject the project.
For thirty years FERC has served as a rubber stamp agency for pipeline and LNG infrastructure. It has misused its authority and the law at every turn in order to advance these projects. Meaningful and substantive reforms are needed. Ideally Congress will hold Congressional hearings to expose the abuses and help identify and shape the reforms needed. But given that legislators are increasingly putting forth window dressing fixes rather than the strong substantive reforms needed, we provide this robust list of fixes that need to be pursued firmly, quickly and without compromise.
Respectfully,
Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, Delaware Riverkeeper Network
Chris Tuley, President, Keep Southeast Nashville Healthy
Tammy Daly, Executive Member, PTA- Green Local School District
Tammy Daly, Recreational Director, Green Soccer Association
Tammy Daly, President, Green Meadows Home Owners Association
Jeremy Brueck, President, Green Lacrosse Club
Greg Mazzagatti, President, Green Youth Football
Joe Bologa, Treasurer, Green Little League/Softball Federation
Yvonne Taylor, Vice President, Gas Free Seneca
Joseph Campbell, President, Seneca Lake Guardian, A Waterkeeper Affiliate
Claire B.W. Miller, Lead Community Organizer, Toxics Action Center
Robert A Armstrong, Jr, FCCPR, Franklin Co Continuing the Political Revolution
Kate McLaughlin, President, Prince William Soundkeeper
Wendy M. Graca, Co-Founder & Secretary, South Coast Neighbors United
Mary Gutierrez, Executive Director, Earth Action, Inc.
Ron Prosek, President, Board of Directors, FaCT-Faith Communities Together for a Sustainable Future
Tracy Manzella, Executive Director, CARCS (Citizens Against the Rehoboth Compressor Station)
Donny Williams, Organizer, We Are Cove Point
Jim Vogt, President, Aquashicola/Pohopoco Watershed Conservancy
Amy Rosmarin, Co-Founder, Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion (SAPE)
Nancy Hazard , Member, Greening Greenfield
John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper, WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.
Sharon Felton , Communications, Concerned Citizens for a Safe Environment (CCSE) Lore Rosenthal, Program Coordinator, Greenbelt Climate Action Network
Patricia Wood, Executive Director, Grassroots Environmental Education
Bri McAlevey, President, No Sharon Gas Pipeline/Clean Energy Now
Rebecca Roter, Chairperson, Breathe Easy Susquehanna County
Marion E. Kanour, Founder, Free Nelson
John Weisheit , Conservation Director, Living Rivers & Colorado Riverkeeper
Nancy Jeffries , Board Member, Conestoga Community Group
Paul Ferrazzi, Executive Director, Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community
Diane L Wexler, Founder, Northjersey Pipeline Walkers
Lynn Ellen Marsh, President, Advocates for Cherry Valley
Tom Burkett, Director, River Healers
Leah Zerbe, Co-Founder, Schuylkill Pipeline Awareness
Kimi Wei, CEO, The Wei
Agnes Marsala, President, People Over Pipelines
Eleanor Amidon, Networker, Pipeline Education Group
Cara Schildtknecht, Riverkeeper, Waccamaw Riverkeeper
April O'Leary, Program Officer, Winyah Rivers Foundation
Ann Marshall, Organizer, Durham CCAP
Tina Venini, Co-Founder, PEACE Youth
Paul L Gierosky, Coalition to Reroute Nexus (CoRN)
Mark Schlosberg, Co-Organizing Director, Food & Water Watch
Stephanie Scherr, Director, ECHO Action NH & NH Pipeline Resistance
Wayne R Stinson, Action Committee Leader, Peacemakers of Schoharie County
James O. Michel, Co-Founder, Resist the Pipeline
Ernie Reed, President, Friends of Nelson
Todd Larsen, Executive Co-Director, Green America
Karen Feridun, Founder, Berks Gas Truth
Richard Averitt, Manager/Member, Rockfish Valley Investments, LLC
Doug O'Malley, Director, Environment New Jersey
Clarence B. Givens, Chairman, Preserve Newport Historic Properties
Lorenz M. Worden, President, Albany Bicycle Coalition
Audrey Schulman, President, Home Energy Efficiency Team
Deni Elliott, Representative, SAYMA Earthcare Action Network
Linda Reik, Board Member, Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development
Joselyn Fenstermacher, Board Vice President, Big Bend Conservation Alliance
Faith Zerbe, Chair, The Campaign for Clean Water Exceptional Value Team
Susan Bouldin, Representative to POWHR (Protect Our Water Heritage Rights), Summers County Residents Against the Pipeline (SCRAP)
Debbie Bradley, The Delaware Township Citizens Against the Pipeline (DTCAP)
Sara Steele, Steeleworks
Vivian Stockman, Vice Director, OVEC-Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
Cathy Kristofferson, Co-Founder, Stop NED
Andrea Miller, Executive Director, People Demanding Action
Diana Wright, Facilitator, PAUSE - People of Albany United for Safe Energy
Claude P. Bowie, Jr., Fair Compensation for Underground Natural Gas Storage Rosemary Wessel, Founder/Program Director, No Fracked Gas in Mass
Roberta M. Bondurant, Preserve Roanoke/Bent Mountain
Roberta M. Bondurant, Protect Our Water, Heritage Rights
Natalie Cronin, Chief Play Artist, Tinker Tree Play/Care
Howard C. Lopshire, PLS., PP., Carroll Engineering Corporation
Lakshmi Fjord, Friends of Buckingham
Michael J. Roth, Treasurer, Our Santa Fe River, Inc.
Stuart Anderson, Community Organizer, Concerned Citizens of Otego NY
Judith Kay McClintock, Arden Enterprises
Richard Shingles, Coordinator, Preserve Giles County
Sharon Furlong, Bucks Environmental Action
Sharon Furlong, Bucks Sierra Club
Martha Neuringer, Oregon Citizens Against the Pipelines
Cheryl Nenn, Riverkeeper, Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Frances Dowdy Collins and Paul B. Collins, Preserve Newport Historic Properties
Leslie Cagan, Coordinator, Peoples Climate Movement NY
Ted Glick, Beyond Extreme Energy
Walt and Danuta Lange, Lange Tree Farm
Ed Griffith, Liason, New Progressive Alliance
Robert Cross, Responsible Drilling Alliance
Joelle Novey, Director, Interfaith Power & Light
Lisa Coedy, Co-Leader, 350 Cape Cod
Patty Cronheim, Hopewell Township NJ Citizens Against the PennEast Pipeline
Judy Detrano, City of Lambertville NJ Citizens Against the PennEast Pipeline
Marty Wissig, Delaware Township NJ Citizens Against the PennEast Pipeline
Maureen Syrnick and Debra Kratzer, Kingwood Township NJ Citizens Against the PennEast Pipeline
Jacqueline Freedman, Alexandria Township NJ Citizens Against the PennEast Pipeline
Lorraine Crown, Holland Township NJ Citizens Against the Penn East Pipeline
Kathie Jones, Organizer, Sustainable Medina County
David Pringle, NJ Campaign Director, Clean Water Action
Phillip Johnson, Executive Director, Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition
Jerome Wagner, President, 350 New Jersey-Rockland County
Helen Davis Chaitman, Linda Christman, Vince DiBianca, Jacqueline Evans, Christiana Foglio, Michael Heffler, Ann Marshall, Maureen Syrnick & Rosalind Westlake, Board of Trustees, HALT- PennEast
Tara Sumner, Vice President, Advocates for Springfield, NY
Nancy Wilson, Member, Steering Committee, Stop the West Roxbury Lateral Pipeline (SWRL)
Tom Burkett, Spokesperson, Virginia River Healers
John J. Walkup III, President , Greenbrier River Watershed Association
Elaine Cimino, Director, Common Ground Country Trust, Stop Fracking the Rio Grande Valley & Common Ground Rising
Public Comment 206: June 2019 - Congress-DC Rights
June 3, 2019
Senate Committee on Appropriations
The Capitol, Room S-128
Washington, DC 20510
House Committee on Appropriations
The Capitol, Room H-307
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Senator or Representative:
We, the undersigned organizations, urge the Appropriations Committees to maintain the District of Columbia FY 2020 Appropriations Bill as introduced. The bill, introduced last night, respects self-governance of the District of Columbia and maintains local control for the residents of Washington, DC.
Should the bill be amended, we are concerned that the FY’20 Spending Bill will, yet again, attempt to undermine local decisions made by the people of the District of Columbia and their locally elected leadership. These local laws were enacted to address concerns that are important to the more than 700,000 residents who call Washington, DC home. When Congress attempts to impose legislative “riders,” they seek to overturn the work of our locally elected officials and ignore the voices of our neighbors. Such riders would have a grave impact on criminal justice reform, local budget control, gun violence prevention, end-of-life medical decisions, and reproductive freedom. These riders usurp the autonomy granted to the District and our elected mayor and council and overstep the original intent of both the creation of the District and the Home Rule Act.
We understand that some in Congress are still seeking to use the appropriations process to impose policy riders upon the people of the District. The undersigned organizations, collectively representing millions of Americans, advocate on diverse issues and are united in our opposition to the inclusion of any language in the appropriations bill that overrides, limits, or otherwise usurps local government decision-making by the District of Columbia.
We also urge Congress to refrain from taking action that could threaten the District’s Local Budget Autonomy Act. The Act allows the District to spend local tax dollars based on the local budget at the beginning of each fiscal year. The DC Superior Court has held that the Autonomy Act is valid and the DC Council and the Mayor of the District are proceeding with the FY’20 local budget in accordance with the law.
Previous appropriations bills have included a provision barring the District from using local funds to provide insurance coverage of abortion care for individuals enrolled in the Medicaid program. While the Hyde Amendment currently restricts the federal funding for abortion care, states are able to use their own funds to cover abortion care for low income individuals. D.C. is the only locality that is restricted by Congress from using its own local funds to ensure equal access to abortion coverage.
Additionally, Congress has interfered with local laws that prevent discrimination based on an individual’s reproductive health decisions. The Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act ensures people are not penalized at work for their personal reproductive health care decisions. No employer has the right to know about personal medical decisions, much less act on them. It should not be the business of Congress to overturn local laws that protect local workers.
Further, previous congressional efforts attempted to overturn, and continue to block, voter initiatives to change marijuana laws that were shown to unfairly target minorities. Congress has gone so far as to bar the District from counting votes on a citizen-led initiative. Most recently, an initiative won the support of over 70 percent of District voters. In the end, the process has created a confusing conflict of laws unique to the District allowing for medicinal and personal use of marijuana but not allowing Washington DC to tax and regulate its sale. In short, congressional meddling has kept the sale of marijuana unregulated and uncontrolled.
Each year, DC faces the threat of legislation that bars local spending on critically needed HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Congressional interference into these local matters is unfair and intolerable. It is a gross misinterpretation of both the United States Constitution and the Home Rule Act. Right now, Americans are debating these and other issues in communities throughout this country. But, what is not up for debate is who gets to decide these questions. DC’s locally elected leadership should decide what is best for the people of the District of Columbia. Or, as former Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy said, he “…was not the Mayor of the District of Columbia.” The Mayor and the Council of the District of Columbia were elected by DC residents to represent our interests. Congress does not impose its views on any other local jurisdiction, and Americans in DC have no vote in the Congress to cast against this ongoing, relentless attack on local democracy. Until such time that the residents of the District achieve full equality through Statehood, we expect Congress to allow District residents to manage their own affairs without interference or meddling.
We urge the Committees to preserve the legislation as introduced and oppose any rollbacks of local autonomy and any other efforts that seek to impose Congress’ views upon DC residents.
Sincerely,
DC Vote
American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union - DC
Alliance for Justice
American Family Voices
Americans for Democratic Action
Anacostia Coordinating Committee
BYP100 DC
Catholics for Choice
Center for Environmental Health
Center for Popular Democracy
Clean Water Action
Collective Action for Safe Spaces
Common Cause
Compassion and Choices
DC for Democracy
DCMJ
DC Statehood Coalition
Democracy for America
Democracy Initiative
DEMOS
Endangered Species Coalition
FairVote Action
Food and Water Watch
Friends of the Earth
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance
Gertrude Stein Democratic Club
HIPS
Human Rights Campaign
League of Women Voters of the United States
League of Women Voters of DC
Let America Vote
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
National Employment Lawyers Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Partnership for Women & Families
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Women’s Law Center
Neighbors United for DC Statehood
New American Leaders Action Fund
New Progressive Alliance
Our Revolution
People Demanding Action
People For the American Way
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington DC
Pride at Work
Public Justice Center
Public Citizen
Rural Coalition
SEIU 32BJ
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Sierra Club
Small Planet Institute
Stand Up for Democracy in DC (Free DC)
Unite HERE Local 25
URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity
UUA Multicultural Growth & Witness Staff Team
Voices for Progress
Workplace Fairness
CC:Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
Public Comment 207: June 2019 - US HOR - Health Infrastructure
June 10, 2019
Chairman Frank Pallone
Energy & Commerce Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Pallone:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in support of provisions in the Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow’s America Act (LIFT America Act) to invest in America’s public health infrastructure. Public health is a crucial part of the nation’s essential infrastructure, and investing in it will save lives and money.
All too often, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and health departments are under-resourced and under-staffed.i A recent report by Trust for America’s Health, The Impact of Chronic Underfunding on America’s Public Health, found that chronic underfunding has presented a consistent obstacle that is preventing the public health system from adequately tackling leading health threats.ii America spends about $3.5 trillion on healthcare, less than three percent of which supports governmental public health.iii In fact, a study out of the University of Kentucky estimated a total shortfall of about $13 per person – or $4.5 billion for the entire nation – to implement comprehensive public health capabilities.iv As recent public health crises, like the measles outbreaks and substance misuse epidemic, have shown, a comprehensive, well-resourced public health system and workforce is needed for effective responses.
The CDC as well as state, local, tribal and territorial health departments, public health laboratories, and community partners need a well-functioning infrastructure to prevent and respond to major health harms. That infrastructure includes facilities and equipment, such as governmental laboratories; up-to-date data and information systems; and a highly skilled and qualified workforce - including those who are the front lines when a deadly infectious disease or dangerous environmental hazard needs to be contained.v,vi The LIFT America Act would authorize funding for cross-cutting core public health and laboratory infrastructure, rather than funding disease-specific capabilities, enabling public health to be nimble in prevention of and response to a range of emerging health conditions. The legislation would invest in workforce capacity and competency, laboratory systems, health information systems, communications, financing and other critical components.
In addition, the success of public health relies upon accurate and timely data, but there are health departments that are still communicating time-sensitive information the way they did a half century ago– by phone, fax and paper. Public health information systems are dependent on outdated technology, systems that are not interoperable, and lack of adequately trained workforce. These outdated systems are delaying public health’s ability to detect outbreaks, communicate with clinicians, and target interventions to prevent disease. The LIFT America Act authorizes critical investments in the public health data infrastructure to transform the speed and accuracy of public health surveillance. Doing so will enable faster detection and containment of outbreaks, with fewer cases – saving lives and reducing delays in response.
As the Zika, Ebola and H1N1 outbreaks, opioid epidemic, natural disasters and rise in chronic diseases have demonstrated, health threats are increasing in frequency and severity, undermining the nation’s economic and health security. U.S. life expectancy has declined for the third year in a row, the longest sustained decline in expected life span since 1918.vii A pandemic could cost the U.S. economy as much as $45 billion.viii And an unhealthy workforce adds billions in direct and indirect costs to the healthcare system and economy. Yet, public health systems and program spending have been shown to have a positive return on investment and improvement in health outcomes – including reducing preventable deaths.ix, x, xi But public health must have the resources to modernize.
Public health is as critical to the nation’s success as roads, bridges, and communications systems. We stand ready to work with Congress to authorize and fund these transformative investments in public health infrastructure.
Sincerely,
AES Consulting
African American Health Alliance
Alameda County (CA) Health Care Services Agency
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
All Youth Access
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
American Public Health Association
American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
American Thoracic Society
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Benzie Leelanau (MI) District Health Department
Big Cities Health Coalition
Boulder County Public Health
Cardiometabolic Research Institute
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Central Michigan Regional Rural Health Network
Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials
Community Action, Service & Advocacy (CASA)
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Cuyahoga County Board of Health Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families
Doctors for America
Dorchester County Health Department Element Health, Inc.
George Mason University Center for Climate Change
Communication Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice Healthcare Ready
Health Care Systems Research Network
Health Department of Northwest Michigan
Health Resources in Action
Hepatitis Education Project
Hispanic Health Initiatives, Inc. (HHI)
HLN Consulting, LLC
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
Hope Whispers Community Organization Inc.
Immunization Action Coalition Impetus – Let’s Get Started, LLC
Institute For Professional Education
Jefferson County (CO) Public Health
Kitsap (WA) Public Health District
Lake County (IL) Health Department and Community Health Center
Lawrence-Douglas County (KS) Health Department
Louisiana Public Health Association
Maine Public Health Association
March of Dimes
Mary Ann Liebert Inc.
Maryland Public Health Association
Mental Health America of Kentucky
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Michigan Public Health Institute
Minneapolis Health Department
Mississippi Urban League, Inc.
MQ Foundation
NASTAD
National Association for Health and Fitness
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
National Athletic Trainers' Association
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable
National WIC Association
NC Public Health Association
New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials
New Jersey Environmental Health Organization
New Jersey Public Health Association
New Progressive Alliance
OZ Systems
Peggy Lillis Foundation
Philadelphia Department of Public Health
Physicians for Social Responsibility, Arizona Chapter
Prevent Blindness
Prevention Institute
Public Health Foundation
RDexpert Nutrition Consulting
Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness
Research!America
Respiratory Health Association
RI Collaborative for Interprofessional Education and Practice
RiverStone Health
Rosalind Franklin Society
School Social Work Association of America
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) Southeastern Regional Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases
Tacoma-Pierce County (WA) Health Department
The Arizona Partnership for Immunization
The Association of Accredited Public Health Programs
The Bingham Program
The Consortium
The Praxis Project
TickEncounter Resource Center (The University of Rhode Island)
Trailhead Institute
Training Resources Network, Inc.
Tribal Health and Tribal Public Health
Tri County (CO) Health Department
Trust for America’s Health
UCLA Center for Health Advancement
Vaccinate Your Family
Washington State Department of Health
Western Gulf Center of Excellence for Vector-borne Diseases
West Valley Neighborhoods Coalition
Women's Resource Center
Young Marathon Runners of America
cc: Members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee
i Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey. de Beaumont Foundation, 2018. http://www.debeaumont.org/ph-wins/
ii The Impact of Chronic Underfunding of America’s Public Health System: Trends, Risks, and Recommendations, 2019. Trust for America’s Health, 2019. https://www.tfah.org/report-details/2019-funding-report/
iii The Nation’s Health Dollar ($3.5 Trillion), Calendar Year 2017, Where It Went. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2018. https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-andReports/NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/PieChartSourcesExpenditures.pdf
iv Mamaril et al. Estimating the Cost of Providing Foundational Public Health Services. Academy Health PHSR Interest Group Meeting, June 25, 2016. http://www.publichealthsystems.org/sites/default/files/presentations/NCCIntramural_Research/cbm%20poster_acad emyhealth_25Jun16.pdf
v Healthy People 2020, Public Health Infrastructure. https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives/topic/public-health-infrastructure
vi Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey. de Beaumont Foundation, 2018. http://www.debeaumont.org/ph-wins/
vii Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Life Expectancy. 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifeexpectancy.htm
viii Prager F, Wei D, Rose A. Total Economic Costs of an Influenza Outbreak in the United States. Risk Analysis. May 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27214756
ix The Return on Investment of Public Health System Spending. Academy Health, 2018. https://www.academyhealth.org/sites/default/files/roi_public_health_spending_june2018.pdf
x Mays, Glen P. and Sharla A Smith. Evidence Links Increases in Public Health Spending to Declines in Preventable Deaths. Health Affairs, Vol 30, No. 8, 2011. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0196
xi Masters, R et al. Return on investment of public health interventions: a systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health 71(8):827-34, 2017. https://jech.bmj.com/content/71/8/827
Public Comment 208: July 2019 – US Senate Allow SEC to Mandate Disclosure of Political Spending
July 25, 2019
Dear Senator:
The undersigned organizations urge you to vote in favor of Menendez amendment #3532 to strike the language in section 629 of the Senate 2019 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. The provision would limit the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ability to finalize, issue, or implement a rule requiring public companies to disclose political spending to shareholders.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC came down in 2010, corporations have been allowed to spend unlimited undisclosed amounts of money to influence American elections and in turn affect policy outcomes. Noting the danger of “dark money” for both American democracy and the shareholders of the companies that are spending in secret, a strong coalition of diverse allies has been working together since the decision to bring corporate spending in politics into the light.
We, the undersigned organizations, believe the SEC should be allowed to and encouraged to move forward with the rulemaking that would require public companies to disclose to their shareholders and the public how they spend money in politics. This information is material to investors- the constituency the SEC is responsible for protecting.
The Supreme Court’s decision to give corporations the right under the First Amendment to spend unlimited funds from their corporate treasuries to support or attack candidates is troubling for several reasons, and investors concerned about the value of their investments and citizens concerned about the future of American democracy are looking to the SEC to take the action that so many investors have demanded and require disclosure of political spending.
Without direction from the SEC, there are no rules or procedures established in the United States to ensure that shareholders – those who actually own the wealth of corporations – are informed of, or have the right to approve, decisions on spending their money on politics. Investors want more disclosure in order to make sound investment decisions. That is why 1.2 million comments- the most in the agency’s history- have come into the SEC on this rulemaking petition from diverse stakeholders including the founder of Vanguard, John Bogle, five state treasurers, a bi- partisan group of former SEC chairs and commissioners, and investment professionals representing $690 billion in assets.
We believe that the rider blocking the SEC from making progress on this rulemaking was inappropriately included in the appropriations process and that the budget should be free of any poison pill policy riders. We urge you to vote in favor of the Menendez amendment #3532 to strike section 629. We are grateful for your leadership and appreciate your consideration of this request to restore transparency and accountability to our democracy.
Sincerely,
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Boston Common Asset Management
Campaign for Accountability
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Media and Democracy
Citizen Works
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Clean Yield Asset Management
Common Cause
Democracy 21
Dominican Sisters of Hope
End Citizens United
Every Voice Franciscan Action Network
Free Speech For People
Government Accountability Project
Green Century Capital Management
Greenpeace
Harrington Investments, Inc.
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR)
New Progressive Alliance
Newground Social Investment
OIP Trust
People For the American Way
Public Citizen
Shareholder Association for Research & Education
The Social Equity Group
Trillium Asset Management, LLC
Unitarian Universalist Association
Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, U.S. Province
U.S. Public Interest Research Group
Voices for Progress
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
Zevin Asset Management
Public Comment 209: July 2019 - US HOR - SEC Force Disclosure Political Spending
July 17, 2019
Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney
Ranking Member Bill Huizenga
Members of the Subcommittee
U.S. House Committee on Financial Services
Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets
2129 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairwoman Maloney, Ranking Member Huizenga, and Members of the Subcommittee,
The undersigned organizations respectfully offer the following comments to the record for the hearing titled “Building a Sustainable and Competitive Economy: An Examination of Proposals to Improve Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosures.” We applaud the committee for looking broadly at ESG disclosure and, in particular, at corporate political spending disclosure, which is addressed in the Shareholder Protection Act legislation introduced as a discussion draft for this hearing.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC came down in 2010, corporations have been allowed to spend unlimited undisclosed amounts of money to influence American elections and in turn affect policy outcomes. Noting the danger of “dark money” for both American democracy and the shareholders of the companies that are spending in secret, a strong coalition of diverse allies has been working together since the decision to bring corporate spending in politics into the light.
We, the undersigned organizations, believe the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should be allowed to and encouraged to move forward with the rulemaking that would require public companies to disclose to their shareholders and the public how they spend money in politics. This information is material to investors- the constituency the SEC is responsible for protecting.
The Supreme Court’s decision to give corporations the right under the First Amendment to spend unlimited funds from their corporate treasuries to support or attack candidates is troubling for several reasons, and investors concerned about the value of their investments and citizens concerned about the future of American democracy are looking to the SEC to take the action that so many investors have demanded and require disclosure of political spending.
Without direction from the SEC, there are no rules or procedures established in the United States to ensure that shareholders – those who actually own the wealth of corporations – are informed of, or have the right to approve, decisions on spending their money on politics. Investors want more disclosure in order to make sound investment decisions. That is why 1.2 million comments- the most in the agency’s history- have come into the SEC on this rulemaking petition from diverse stakeholders including the founder of Vanguard, John Bogle, five state treasurers, a bi- partisan group of former SEC chairs and commissioners, and investment professionals representing $690 billion in assets.
A company’s political activity- both its election spending and lobbying- is relevant to its shareholders because it can present significant reputational risk if not disclosed and managed properly. Many customers and the purchasing public are paying close attention to whether a company’s political activity lines up with its corporate values. If there is a disconnect companies can face bad press, boycotts, or targeted social media campaigns.
For example, AT&T came under public scrutiny after it was revealed that the company paid attorney Michael Cohen--who has since been sentenced to three years in prison for campaign finance violations and fraud--$600,000 to consult on policy matters without disclosing that information to shareholders. This was following five years of calls from AT&T’s shareholders to disclose the full extent of its lobbying activity and oversight policies, including payments for direct and indirect lobbying. Clearly shareholders were right to make this demand. It is important for companies to be transparent in order to prove corporate integrity and reputational soundness.
Shareholder proposals calling on companies to be honest about their political activity are one of the most frequently filed proposals every year, with 93 filed at the start of the 2019 proxy season.
The undersigned organizations have been encouraging the Commission to promptly initiate a rulemaking to develop mandatory rules for public companies to disclose their political activity and we applaud members of the House for drawing attention to this critical issue.
Sincerely,
Common Cause
Democracy 21
End Citizens United Action Fund
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
New Progressive Alliance
OIP Trust/Missionary Oblates
Pax World Funds
Public Citizen
Sierra Club
Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth
The Union of Concerned Scientists
Public Comment 210: August 2019 - Congress - Amendment to Overturn Citizens United
August, 2019
Dear Honorable Members of 116th Congress:
Large donors now dominate elections in the United States, silencing the voices of average Americans and making government unresponsive to their needs. We are writing to urge you to co-sponsor H.J.Res. 2, the bipartisan Democracy for All Amendment, which would restore the authority of Congress and the states to set common-sense rules for the raising and spending of money on elections to advance political equality for all Americans.
The American people continue to demand action from Congress on this issue. Indeed, on Thursday, June 6th, 2019, New Hampshire became the 20th state to call on Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment to address the harm caused by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision and related cases. New Hampshire joins nineteen other states and over 800 cities and towns across the country, representing more than 140 million Americans, that have passed similar resolutions since 2010.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United is one of several cases that opened the doors to vastly more special interest money in elections. If the wealthy individuals and concentrations of capital can drown out the voices of ordinary Americans in elections, we cease to be a representative democracy.
Amending the Constitution should only be done in the rarest of circumstances. The Supreme Court’s decisions have pushed America to a tipping point in which big-moneyed interests exert control over all levers of government. America needs to be responsive to the people, not to corporations and special interests, or it is no longer a democratic republic. We urge you to become a co-sponsor of H.J.Res. 2, the Democracy for All Amendment, so ordinary Americans can meaningfully participate in our elections and government.
Sincerely,
20/20 Vision
350.org
Action Group Network
African Americans Ministers In Action
Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AkPIRG)
Alliance for Youth Action
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Federation of Teachers
American Promise
BiNet USA
Blue Future
Brave New Films
Campaign for Accountability
Campaign for America's Future
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Media and Democracy
Center for Science and Democracy — Union of Concerned Scientists
CenterLink: The Communinity of LGBT Centers
Clean Elections Texas
Clean Water Action
Climate Hawks Vote
Climate Law & Policy Project
Coalition to Preserve, Protect & Defend
Coalition to Restore Democracy
CODE PINK
Color Of Change
Common Cause
Common Defense
Communications Workers of America
Conference of Superiors of Men (Catholic)
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Corporate Accountability
Courage Campaign
CREDO Action
Daily Kos
Democracy 21
Democracy Matters
Democratic Coalition
Demos
Disciples Justice Action Network
End Citizens United Action Fund
Endangered Species Coalition
Equal Citizens
Food & Water Watch
Frac Sand Sentinel-Project Outreach
Franciscan Action Network
Free Speech For People
Friends of the Earth
Get Money Out – Maryland
Global Witness
Government Information Watch
Greenpeace
Herd on the Hill
Hip Hop Caucus
Indivisible
Indivisible Kansas City
Indivisible Madison
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
International Corporate Accountability Roundtable
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
League of Conservation Voters
LeftAction
Main Street Alliance
MAYDAY America
Modern Military Association of America
MomsRising
MoveOn
MOVI, Money Out Voters In
NAACP
National Action Network
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Association of Social Workers
National Black Justice Coalition
National Council of Churches
National Education Association
National Equality Action Team (NEAT)
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New American Leaders Action Fund
NH Labor News
New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics
New Progressive Alliance
North American Climate, Conservation and Environment(NACCE)
Occupy Bergen County (New Jersey)
Patriotic Millionaires
Pay 2 Play
Peace Action
People Demanding Action
People For the American Way
People's Action
Pride at Work
Progressive Turnout Project
Public Citizen
Reclaim Our Democracy
RootsAction.org
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Sierra Club
Small Planet Institute
Stamp Stampede
Stand Up America
Take On Wall Street
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ)
UniteBlue
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
United For Democracy
United To Amend
UnKoch My Campus
WA Democracy Hub
Win|Win Network
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
Wisconsin Grassroots Network
Wolf-PAC
Youth Progressive Action Catalyst
Public Comment 211: August 2019 - Puget Sound Clean Air Agency - Deny LNG Facility
August 25, 2019
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
1904 Third Avenue, Suite 105
Seattle, WA 98101
The New Progressive Alliance at http://newprogs.org/ urges you to deny the permit for Puget Sound Energy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility because it is based upon an inadequate supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS).
The SEIS is inadequate for four reasons.
The first reason the SEIS is inadequate is it fails to address the dangers of natural gas and unnecessarily locks us into decades of fossil fuel use in the middle of a climate crisis. The answer is not natural gas obtained by fracking - "in essence, explode a pipe bomb a few thousand feet beneath the surface, fracturing the surrounding rock." (reference 594) Unregulated by the EPA because of congressional action combined with the support of Presidents Obama and Trump, companies refuse to even reveal the chemicals they are "fracking" with, nobody is monitoring the pollution to water and our aquifiers, and nobody is factoring the release of methane as a GHG. Of the 750 chemicals that can be used in the fracking process, more than 650 of them are toxic or carcinogens, according to a report filed with the U.S. House of Representatives in April 2011.
See references 60, 63, 150, 183, 194, 220, 244, 280, 288, 296, 301, 303, 345, 355, 359, 370, 374 - 377, 404, 410, 414, 434, 456, 475, 483, 521, 542 - 544, 594, 602, 639, 683 - 689, 712, 713, 715 - 718, 734 - 736, 745, 746, 776, 815 - 824, 845, 846, 929 - 941, 989, 1052 - 1071, 1166 - 1173, 1345-1362, 1557, 1560-1561, 1576-1583, 1668-1669, 1687-1689, 1724, 1731, 1783-1787, 1937-1957, 2133-2139, 2249, 2317, 2421-2436, 2558-2564, 2598, 2667, 2747, 2776-2787, 2980-2982, 3168, 3170, 3171, 3187, 3222-3236, 3347, 3494-3496, 3507, 3853-3860, 3920, 4022, 4029, 4101, 4102, 4173, 4287, 4290, 4303-4315 of the article “The Environment” found here: http://www.newprogs.org/the_environment_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty
The second reason the SEIS is inadequate is because comprehensive science just is not there. It is based on inaccurate science that does not properly assess the climate impacts of methane. The analysis in the SEIS inaccurately and inadequately accounts for the greenhouse gas emissions associated with this proposal by making misleading assumptions regarding the source, leakage rate, and warming potential associated with gas servicing the facility. Furthermore, PSCAA has done nothing to ensure that gas supplied to the LNG facility would be put toward the end uses evaluated in the SEIS.
The third reason the SEIS is inadequate is the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency did not engage in meaningful consultation with the Puyallup Tribe as required by law and thus ignoring adverse impacts this project would have on the community. It is obvious the SEIS did not engage in meaningful consultation with the Puyallup Tribe both because of the Puyallup Tribe leaders and the SEIS itself.
The fourth and final reason the SEIS is inadequate is it does not uphold the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency mission to “protect public health, improve neighborhood air quality, and reduce our region’s contribution to climate change.” The New Progressive Alliance urges the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to be true to your mission and deny the permit for Puget Sound Energy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility.
Public Comment 212: September 2019 – US HOR – Overturn Citizens United
September 5, 2019
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Member of Congress:
Large donors now dominate elections in the United States, silencing the voices of average Americans and making government unresponsive to their needs. We are writing to urge you to cosponsor H.J.Res. 2, the bipartisan Democracy For All Amendment, which would restore the authority of Congress and the states to set commonsense rules for the raising and spending of money on elections to advance political equality for all Americans.
The American people continue to demand action from Congress on this issue. Indeed, on June 6, New Hampshire became the 20th state to call on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to address the harm caused by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision and related cases. New Hampshire joins 19 other states and more than 800 localities across the country, representing more than 140 million Americans, that have passed similar resolutions and other actions since 2010.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United is one of several cases that opened the doors to vastly more special interest money in elections. If the wealthy individuals and concentrations of capital can drown out the voices of ordinary Americans in elections, we cease to be a representative democracy.
Amending the Constitution should only be done in the rarest of circumstances. The Supreme Court’s decisions have pushed America to a tipping point in which big-moneyed interests exert control over all levers of government. America needs to be responsive to the people, not to corporations and special interests, or it is no longer a democratic republic. We urge you to become a cosponsor of H.J.Res. 2, the Democracy For All Amendment, so ordinary Americans can meaningfully participate in our elections and government.
Sincerely,
20/20 Vision
350.org
Action Group Network
African Americans Ministers In Action
Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AkPIRG)
Alliance for Youth Action
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Federation of Teachers
American Promise
BiNet USA
Blue Future
Brave New Films
Campaign for Accountability
Campaign for America's Future
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Media and Democracy
Center for Science and Democracy — Union of Concerned Scientists
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
Church World Service
Clean Elections Texas
Clean Water Action
Climate Hawks Vote
Climate Law & Policy Project
Coalition to Preserve, Protect & Defend
Coalition to Restore Democracy
CODE PINK
Color Of Change
Common Cause
Common Defense
Communications Workers of America
Conference of Superiors of Men (Catholic)
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Corporate Accountability
Courage Campaign
CREDO Action
Daily Kos
Democracy 21
Democracy Matters
Democratic Coalition
Demos
Disciples Justice Action Network
End Citizens United Action Fund
Endangered Species Coalition
Equal Citizens
Equality California
Food & Water Watch
Frac Sand Sentinel-Project Outreach
Franciscan Action Network
Free Speech For People
Friends of the Earth
Global Witness
Government Information Watch
Greenpeace
Herd on the Hill
Hip Hop Caucus
Indivisible
Indivisible Kansas City
Indivisible Madison
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
International Corporate Accountability Roundtable
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
League of Conservation Voters
LeftAction
Main Street Alliance
MapLight
MAYDAY America
Modern Military Association of America
MomsRising
MoveOn
MOVI, Money Out Voters In
NAACP
National Action Network
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Association of Social Workers
National Black Justice Coalition
National Council of Churches
National Education Association
National Equality Action Team (NEAT)
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New American Leaders Action Fund
New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics
New Progressive Alliance
NH Labor News
North American Climate, Conservation and Environment (NACCE)
North Carolina Justice Center
Occupy Bergen County (New Jersey)
Patriotic Millionaires
Pay 2 Play
Peace Action
People Demanding Action
People For the American Way
People's Action
Pride at Work
Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Progressive Turnout Project
Public Citizen
Reclaim Our Democracy
RootsAction.org
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Sierra Club
Silver State Equality-Nevada
Small Planet Institute
Southern Poverty Law Center
Stamp Stampede
Stand Up America
Take On Wall Street
The Center for Popular Democracy
The Student PIRGs
U.S. PIRG
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ)
UniteBlue
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
United For Democracy
UnKoch My Campus
WA Democracy Hub @ Win Win Network
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
Wisconsin Grassroots Network
Wolf-PAC
Youth Progressive Action Catalyst
Public Comment 213: September 2019 – US HOR – Restrain FERC
September 13, 2019
Chair Frank Pallone
House Energy & Commerce Committee
Chair Raul Grijalva
House Committee on Natural Resources
Chair Elijah Cummings
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Chair Peter DeFazio
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
RE: Congressional Hearings to Investigate Abuses of Power and Law by FERC
It’s Time For Your Committees to DO SOMETHING!
Dear Chair Frank Pallone, Chair Raul Grijalva, Chair Elijah Cummings, Chair Peter DeFazio, and other members of Congress:
You, your committees and the 2019 Congress is now complicit in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) abuses of our communities, environment, states and future generations. Your failure to act to hold congressional hearings to learn about FERC’s abuses of power and law and then to initiate needed legislative reforms is helping FERC advance the pipelines that are advancing climate change, stripping people of their property rights, damaging family farms and businesses, and are the cause of accidents, incidents and explosions that are very literally killing and injuring people and devastating their lives.
It is time for Congress to DO SOMETHING! Your rhetoric and campaign slogans of interest, care or concern for the devastating impacts of pipelines and climate change are of no value if they are not backed by action. For years we have been asking for congressional hearings and for years we have been told that you, the Chairs of key committees, did not have the power to implement our request. Well now you have had that power for nearly a year and still all we hear is rhetoric.
And now FERC is once again tearing at the fabric of our laws in order to strip from states and communities, even further, the last bit of power we have to protect our communities and future generations from the devastating environmental and climate changing impacts of pipelines. FERC has ruled that in the case of the Constitution pipeline, where New York State ultimately denied Clean Water Act 401 Certification, that the date of submission of the application for purposes of determining whether the state had denied certification within a reasonable time as required by law was not the last time the pipeline company submitted its application for review, but in fact was the date of an earlier application that the company had withdrawn. It is an absurd decision and outcome clearly designed to undermine states’ rights and to ram through yet another climate changing FERC fracked gas pipeline.
It is time for Congressional hearings into FERC’s abuses of power and law. Our VOICES (Victory Over Infrackstructure, Clean Energy inStead) Coalition is here to help. We have provided you a dossier of evidence of abuses ( http://bit.ly/DossierofFERCAbuse ) and we can provide you with witnesses from impacted communities across the nation that can provide riveting and relevant testimony on the many ways FERC’s abuses are impacting states rights’ property rights; due process rights; our waterways, forests and climate change; our health and safety; property values, family farms, small businesses, jobs and communities.
We have provided you recommendations for common sense and much needed legislative reforms.
We have listened to and applauded your rhetoric about the harms of fracked gas pipelines and your concerns about the devastating impacts of climate change.
And now we tell you to stop talking and to start acting. It is time for you to Do Something. It is time for you to initiate hearings in your committees to investigate FERC’s abuses of power and law and to advance the much needed legislative reforms these hearings will identify. Undertaking this step will not only address the many abuses of FERC but will also help stop the current Trump administration’s regulatory rollback proposal that further undermines states rights as a clear and stated effort to advancing fossil fuel infrastructure and their climate changing emissions.
Delaware Riverkeeper
New Progressive Alliance
(many others)
Public Comment 214: September 2019 – USAA leave ALEC
9/20/2019
USAA
Office of Stuart Parker
9800 Fredericksburg Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78288
Dear Mr. Stuart Parker,
The USAA has prided itself as a friend and ally to America's armed forces and veterans. Your company has provided financial stability and security to millions of our nation's military personnel and their families and for that we are thankful. With that being said, your fiscal support for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) contradicts your company’s values and puts the livelihood of millions of veterans and union families in jeopardy. We, the undersigned organizations, ask that you fully withdraw all support of and participation with ALEC.
ALEC supports the predatory lending industry, which preys on military families at four times the rate of other Americans. ALEC has also attacked the ACA and Medicaid, programs that millions of veterans and their families rely on for their healthcare. In 2017, only forty percent of all veterans were enrolled in the VA health care system, while the majority of veterans’ family members did not qualify for VA assistance. Nearly one in ten veterans use Medicaid as a source of coverage. Additionally, ALEC’s primary funders, Charles and the late David Koch, have been pushing the privatization of the VA, which would provide no tangible benefit for veterans, remove government accountability and create instability for their families.
ALEC has worked to limit government assistance eligibility and dismantle welfare programs, even though nearly a quarter of enlisted service members seek access to food assistance due to the low pay provided to too many of our military families. ALEC has been a vehement opponent of a minimum wage increase, disregarding that more than 1.3 million American veterans earn less than 15 dollars an hour. Studies suggest a strong correlation between financial instability and increased rates in veteran suicides. This point is particularly egregious considering it undoes the stability your organization means to provide. ALEC even advocates strongly for an Article V convention to enact a federal balanced budget amendment that would gut necessary programs and provisions for our troops like the purchasing of protective gear and treatment for wounded veterans.
The undersigned organizations are asking you to stand up for our nation's veterans and union veteran members, at a time when we need to do everything in our power to protect those who protected us. If USAA is truly the ally of America's service members and veterans, an image that they advertise and market themselves as, they must terminate their relationship and end fiscal support to ALEC. The livelihood of our troops and their families, past, present, and future, is under attack by ALEC.
We ask that your office make clear to its members and veterans that it will not stand for the sort of detrimental, dangerous and greedy policies ALEC pursues.
We urge you to stop funding ALEC.
Sincerely,
Union Veterans Council
Unitarian Universalist Association
Communications Workers of America
KyotoUSA
Stand Up to ALEC
Democracy for America
National LGBTQ Task Force
WV Citizen Action Group
New Progressive Alliance
Public Justice Center
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
Center for Biological Diversity
Progress Florida
Alliance for Retired Americans
Greenpeace USA
Pride at Work
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
Center for Constitutional Rights
New Progressive Alliance
Christopher Reynolds Foundation
Newground Social Investment, spc
Harrington Investments Inc
RootsAction.org
Network of Spiritual Progressives
SC Progressive Network
Public Comment 215: September 2019 – US HOR – DC Statehood
September 18, 2019
House Committee on Oversight and Reform
Representative Elijah Cummings – Chair
Representative Jim Jordan – Ranking Member
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Cummings and Ranking Member Jordan:
Our nation was founded, in part, as a response to the tyranny of taxation without representation laid upon the people of the colonies by the British Crown. More than two-hundred years have passed since the United States declared our independence from that oppression. Yet, for the seven hundred thousand Americans who call Washington, DC home, this unjust system remains.
The Congress of the United States has gone beyond the efforts of King George III, by denying self-rule and impacting local laws and the spending of locally raised revenue. Liberty, the ability of a people to govern themselves is an American value, held deeply by both the Congress and the people it represents. Yet every day, Washingtonians are denied that fundamental right.
As you hear testimony and consider H.R. 51, the Washington, DC Admissions Act, we, the undersigned organizations, urge you to uphold the founding principles of our democracy and our deeply held values and support full and equal representation for the people of Washington, DC.
This is not simply a matter of extending representation to the residents of Washington, DC, more than half of whom are people of color. States are the fundamental basis for our system of government and to deny a population the ability to form a state denies them the ability to fully participate in self-governance. Any solution short of statehood would simply continue the two-tiered system of citizenship present in our democracy today.
H.R. 51 preserves a constitutionally required Federal District that enshrines the area that houses the three branches of our federal government, our iconic monuments, and the National Mall and preserves it for all Americans. At the same time, it creates the 51st State out of the neighborhoods and commercial areas populated by those of us who call DC home. Statehood upholds all of the Constitution by protecting the Federal Government from control of any one state and ending the un-American exclusion of the people of Washington, DC.
We urge you to forward H.R. 51, the Washington, DC Admissions Act for consideration by the full United States House of Representatives.
Sincerely,
ACLU
Advocates for Youth
AFGE
AFL-CIO
AIDS United
Alliance for Justice
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
American Association for Justice
American Association of University Women
American Ethical Union
American Federation of Teachers
Americans for Democratic Action
Bend the Arc
Brady
California League of Conservation Voters
Campaign Legal Center
Catholics for Choice
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Environmental Health
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Center for Study of Responsive Law
Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Clean Water Action
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Common Cause
Communications Workers of America
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
CREDO
DC Vote
Demand Justice
Demand Progress
Democracy 21
Democracy for America
Demos
Drug Policy Alliance
End Citizens United Action Fund
Food & Water Watch
Free Speech For People
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Friends of the Earth
Greenpeace US
Human Rights Campaign
In Our Own Voice
Indivisible
International Assoc. of Machinists & Aerospace Workers
Jews United for Justice
Just Foreign Policy
Lambda Legal
Lawyers' Committee
Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
League of Conservation Voters
League of Women Voters of the United States
Let America Vote
March For Our Lives
MAYDAY America
MomsRising
MoveOn
NAACP
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Abortion Federation
National Action Network
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Community Reinvestment Coalition
National Congress of Black Women
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Federation of Democratic Women
National LGBT Chamber of Commerce
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Urban League
National Women's Law Center
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Progressive Alliance
NOPE Neighbors
NORML
NTEU
People Demanding Action
People for the American Way
Physicians for Reproductive Health
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Pride at Work
Progressive Democrats of America
Psychologists for Social Responsibility
Public Citizen
Public Justice Center
SEIU
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Sierra Club
Small Planet Institute
Stand Up America
The Democracy Initiative
The Democratic Coalition
The National Black Law Students Association
Union of Concerned Scientists
Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE)
UNITE HERE
D.C. Organizations
ACLU-DC
Anacostia Coordinating Council
Apartment & Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington
DC Appleseed
DC Chamber of Commerce
DC Hospital Association
D.C. Marijuana Justice
D.C. Statehood – Yes We Can!
DC Working Families
District of Columbia Building Industry Association
Federal City Council
Greater Washington Board of Trade
Greater Washington Urban League
Hotel Association of Washington, D.C.
League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia
March For Our Lives DC
Neighbors United for DC Statehood
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington
Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington
Stand Up! for Democracy in DC (Free DC)
Students for D.C. Statehood
The D.C. Statehood Coalition
Washington Ethical Society
Public Comment 216: October 2019 – EPA-Keep Methane Restrictions
The New Progressive Alliance urged the EPA not to roll back methane limitations in Public Comment 216 below. Because of methane's potency—some estimates suggest the greenhouse gas has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide—environmentalists and scientists have warned the Trump administration's efforts to gut methane regulations could have disastrous consequences.
Fortunately, the courts are only upholding about 8 percent of Trump’s environmental rollbacks because the rollbacks are either illegal or go against established science. The New Progressive Alliance made a formal public comment to the EPA opposing methane rollbacks.
"This administration is ultimately driven by sociopathic disregard for our future."
—Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch
"It would also forestall legal requirements that would have forced the EPA to set rules on emissions from thousands of pre-existing wells and industry sites," the Journal reported.
Environmentalists reacted with outrage to the new proposal. "This administration is ultimately driven by sociopathic disregard for our future," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch.
Earthworks policy director Lauren Pagel called the rule "reckless" and said it will "impact millions of families living with oil and gas air pollution in their backyards."
"This is extraordinarily harmful," Rachel Kyte, United Nations special representative on sustainable energy, said of the Trump administration's proposed rule change. "Just at a time when the federal government's job should be to help localities and states move faster toward cleaner energy and a cleaner economy, just at that moment when speed and scale is what's at stake, the government is walking off the field."
October 6, 2019
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Administrator 1101A
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
Dear EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler,
The New Progressive Alliance strongly opposes the rollback of the EPA’s New Source Performance Standards for methane.
Weakening these commonsense standards hurts vulnerable communities living near these oil and gas operations that already suffer from disproportionate health impacts, and it ignores the EPA’s fundamental responsibility to protect our health and safety.
Beyond the immediate health impact of increased toxic air pollution, methane is a ferocious driver of climate change, which traps 86 times more heat in the near term than carbon dioxide. The EPA has found that greenhouse gases — including methane — endanger both public health and public welfare. We cannot allow increases in these gases when scientific bodies from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. federal government’s own National Climate Assessment, and the New Progressive Alliance’s own article on The Environment at http://www.newprogs.org/the_environment_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty with over 4,600 references all warn that the impacts of climate change are affecting us now, and will get much worse if we fail to act.
This rollback cannot be justified from a health perspective, a justice perspective, a climate perspective, or an economic perspective. The New Progressive Alliance encourages the EPA to withdraw this rollback immediately and to meet its mandate to protect the environment and human health.
Public Comment 217: October 2019 – SEC-Improve Disclosure
October 22, 2019
Jay Clayton, Chair
Robert Jackson, Hester Peirce, Allison Lee, and Elad Roisman, Commissioners
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F St, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: Modernization of Regulation S–K Items 101, 103, and 105
File Number S7– 11–19
Dear officers,
We, the undersigned organizations, write to offer the following comments on the proposed rule described by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, Agency, Commission) as “Modernization of Regulation S-K, items 101, 103, and 105.” In brief, we are disappointed that the SEC ignored numerous petitions, such as those involving disclosures on climate change and political spending, and thereby has missed the opportunity to improve its disclosure requirements to better reflect dynamic changes relevant to American corporations.
Since the SEC adopted Regulation S–K in 1977,1 the business world has transformed. The internet and computer industries spawned companies that now dominate the list of best-capitalized corporations. Human capital is the most valuable asset in these firms. Environmental issues, namely climate change, is a glaring risk factor. Governance failures, such as the accounting frauds of the early 2000s and then the Wall Street crash of 2008, mean issues such as corporate political spending are chronic investor concerns, as evinced by frequency of shareholder resolutions on this subject. 2
Yet the SEC’s proposed changes to the S-K form fail to recognize these transformations.
Human Capital
The SEC has received voluminous comment from investors asking for greater disclosure regarding human capital. Institutional investors, including signatories below, sought information on worker recruitment, employee turnover, hiring practices, employee benefits and grievance mechanisms, employee engagement, investment in employee training, workplace health and safety, strategies and goals related to human capital management and legal or regulatory proceedings related to employee management, whether employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and employee compensation or incentive structures. The Human Capital Management Coalition submitted a petition with specific ideas,34 marshalling dozens of studies demonstrating the material impact of various employment practices.
Environmental Record
Global warming represents an existential threat to the planet and will impact the future of every public company. In an erroneous response to this, the SEC proposes to reduce the disclosures related to the environment. Specifically, the Agency proposes to revise the $100,000 threshold for disclosure of environmental proceedings to which the government is a party to $300,000. This reduction in reporting flies in the face of already inaccurate disclosures. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency found that “74 percent of publicly-traded companies had failed to adequately disclose the existence of environmental legal proceedings in their 10-K registration requirements."8 The SEC should be increasing enforcement of its minimal disclosure requirements in addition to improving requirements in this vital area.
Political Spending
Of all the petitions received by the SEC regarding improved disclosure, none has received more signatories than the 1.2 million investors, academics, and members of the public who called for greater corporate political spending disclosure. 9 On top of that, more than 26,000 comments came to the SEC on this issue in response to the original Concept Release on Reg S-K.10 Each year, shareholder resolutions calling for such disclosure count among the most common. In 2019, there were more than 93 proposes filed on this issue, with support increasing each year.11 Yet, despite this outcry of support from shareholders the SEC offers nothing here. In fact, the SEC cites a letter from FedEx 20 times in this proposal, where the company calls for a reliance on volunteered “principles based” information, not numbers-based bright line disclosure.12
It’s not surprising that in the letters cited by the SEC, FedEx calls for a more principles- based disclosure given that FedEx has declined to be more transparent even when its own shareholders ask for it. At its September annual meeting, FedEx management recommended a vote against a proposal from its shareholders requesting more transparency around the company’s lobbying activity.13
Additional ESG Issues
The SEC has also received public petitions and comments calling for more disclosure of other critical indicators of well- managed companies. These requests include calls for corporations to disclose gender pay ratios on an annual basis, human rights policies, practices and impacts, and tax practices.14 These calls for increased disclosure culminated in a rulemaking petition from investors with more than $5 trillion in assets under management asking the SEC to require comprehensive ESG risk disclosure. 15
Costs but no Benefits
Finally, we find it revealing that the one area that the SEC asks for additional disclosure relates to compliance costs. The SEC asks corporations to count up and disclose the total cost of all compliance, including compliance with environmental laws. We do not object to such disclosure but believe it will fuel an anti-regulation agenda. Sensible regulations benefit corporations as the SEC’s own cost-benefit analysis document; surely corporations could estimate the benefits in addition to potential costs.
In summary, investors have petitioned to SEC to expand transparency, and the SEC has responding by proposing less disclosure. We urge the SEC to respond to these many petitioners with a robust, new disclosure regime.
For questions, please contact Rachel Curley at [email protected], or Bartlett Naylor at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Amazon Watch
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
As you Sow
Campaign for Accountability
Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes
Environment America
Friends Fiduciary Corporation
Global Witness
Green Century Capital Management
Harrington Investments, Inc.
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Jantz Management LLC
Miller/Howard Investments, Inc.
New Progressive Alliance
Newground Social Investment, SPC
NorthStar Asset Management, Inc.
Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment
Oil Change International
OIP Trust
Oxfam America
Pax World Funds
Public Citizen
Railroads & Clearcuts Campaign
Reynders, McVeigh Capital Management LLC
Sierra Club
Teamsters
Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment
U.S. PIRG
Union of Concerned Scientists
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
1 In adopting Regulation S-K, the SEC explained that its effort would foster uniform and integrated disclosure for registration statements under both the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, and other Exchange Act filings. This document would include both financial and non-financial filings. A financial filing describes, in quantitative terms, the business results by quarter and by year, as well as the balance sheet describing the basic value of the firm, including assets, liabilities, and net worth. A nonfinancial filing describes in qualitative terms the nature of the business, various transactions.
2 Corporate Political Activity, PROXY PREVIEW (website visited Sept. 23, 2019) https://www.proxypreview.org/2019/report/social-issues/corporate-political-activity
3 Rulemaking petition to require registrants to disclose information about their human capital management policies, practices and performance, File No. 4–711 HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT COALITION (July 6, 2017), available at https:// www.sec.gov/rules/petitions/2017/petn4-711.pdf
4 Members of the Human Capital Management Coalition, HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT COALITION (website visited September 16, 2019) http://uawtrust.org/AdminCenter/Library.Files/Media/501/About%20Us/HCMCoalition/hcmmembership2018.pdf
5 The former has been required since the beginning of the S-K form; the latter came in 2018 to fulfill a requirement under Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. There has never been a requirement to enumerate how much is expended on wages; this figure is part of a larger categories, such as sales and general administrative expense.
6 Specifically, the SEC asks firms for “A description of . . . human capital resources, including in such description any human capital measures or objectives that management focuses on in managing the business (such as, depending on the nature of the registrant’s business and workforce, measures or objectives that address the attraction, development, and retention of personnel).”
7 Our Commitment, BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE, (August 19, 2019) https://opportunity.businessroundtable.org/ourcommitment/
8 Lawrence Schnapf, "Managing Environmental Liability in Business Transactions and Brownfield Redevelopment," Juris Publishing, (2013), cited in Letter, Domini Trust, SEC (August 12, 2014) https://www.sec.gov/comments/disclosureeffectiveness/disclosureeffectiveness-13.pdf.
9 Petition, Committee on Disclosure of Corporate Political Spending Petition for Rulemaking, SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (August 3, 2011) https://www.sec.gov/rules/petitions/2011/petn4-637.pdf
10 Tyler Gellasch, Towards a Sustainable Economy, AFL-CIO, ET AL (September, 2016) https://www.citizen.org/wpcontent/uploads/sustainableeconomyreport.pdf
11 Corporate Political Activity, PROXY PREVIEW (website visited Sept. 23, 2019) https://www.proxypreview.org/2019/report/social-issues/corporate-political-activity
12 Proxy Statement, FedEx, SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (2019) https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1048911/000120677419002626/fdx3608061def14a.htm#STOCKHOLDERPROPOSALS99
13 Proxy Statement, FedEx, SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (2019) https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1048911/000120677419002626/fdx3608061def14a.htm#STOCKHOLDERPROPOSALS99
14 Petition, Request for rulemaking on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure, SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (October 1, 2018) https://www.sec.gov/rules/petitions/2018/petn4-730.pdf
15 Id.
Public Comment 218: October 2019 –Oppose Washington state I-976
The New Progressive Alliance joined business, labor and environmental leaders to oppose Washington state’s I-976 which would be disastrous for transportation and the environment.
I-976 repeals several critical sources of transportation funding that are used to fix dangerous highways, retrofit bridges and overpasses, fund transit, build voter-approved projects, improve freight corridors, and invest in the Washington State Patrol.
I-976 eliminates $4 billion of funding over the next 10 years. It is a drastic drop in revenue and the Legislature would have to rewrite the entire transportation budget with less money and ever-increasing costs. All projects would have to be reconsidered and may be canceled or delayed, depending on Legislative priorities. The longer projects are delayed, the more they cost.
I-976 reduces state funds, but also makes it harder for local communities to be independent of Olympia. I-976 eliminates the ability of cities to form transportation benefit districts (TBDs), and to use car tabs to solve local problems
It doesn’t make sense that a statewide initiative would take away the ability to fund basic local road maintenance, but that’s exactly what it would do. If I-976 passes, car tabs might cost less, but every dollar will go straight to Olympia, with no guarantee that any funds will come back. Those savings come at a cost to you, our community and our future.
Local transit programs receive state grant funding to help ensure access for people with disabilities, senior citizens, veterans, tribes, and low-income riders. These services are crucial for people to get jobs, appointments, buy groceries and live independently.
I-976 would be disastrous for Washington state’s transportation and the environment.
Public Comment 219: October 2019 – Congress pass clean budget
October 31, 2019
Dear Member of Congress,
The Clean Budget Coalition, an alliance of labor, scientific, consumer, research, good government, faith, civil rights, community, health, environmental, and public interest groups, writes you to urge FY20 appropriations bills that are free from poison pill policy riders that harm the public.
No appropriations titles or package of bills, or continuing resolutions (should that be deemed the appropriate path to continue funding the government), should move forward if they contain poison pill policy riders that go against the public interest. Unfortunately, such poison pill riders have existed as favors to corporate and special interests in previous appropriations cycles, and therefore a set of “legacy poison pills” must be removed from the FY20 appropriations bills. We ask that you take that stance as Congress processes the FY20 appropriations bills—keeping out new poison pills that harm the public and removing those that have become embedded.
Poison pill riders are unpopular and dangerous, and the public opposes the abuse of the budget process to roll back public protections. The budget should be funding the things that Americans care about, not undoing essential safeguards or being held hostage to non-starter demands for projects such as a border wall.
The American people support policies to:
- Ensure safe and healthy food and products;
- Restrain Wall Street abuses;
- Secure our air, land, water and wildlife;
- Safeguard fair and safe workplaces;
- Guard against consumer rip-offs and corporate wrongdoing;
- Affirm the local fiscal and legislative sovereignty of the District of Columbia;
- Defend our campaign finance and election systems;
- Promote economic fairness in banking, housing and business;
- Provide access to justice and fair housing;
- Protect human and civil rights, including the rights of immigrants; and
- Guarantee continued access to vital health care services including comprehensive reproductive health care, among other things.
The public does not support slipping damaging poison pills into must-pass appropriations bills that would undo any of these protections as a means to win approval. We urge Members of Congress to fully fund important programs and to reject any flawed bills that fail to remove poison pill policy riders that would undo essential public safeguards.
Sincerely,
20/20 Vision
AFL-CIO
AFSCME
Alaska Wilderness Action
American Association for Justice
American Bird Conservatory
Americans for Financial Reform
Animal Wellness Action
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Center for American Progress
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Coalition on Human Needs
Coalition for Health Funding
Common Cause
Communications Workers of America
Consumer Action
Consumer Federation of America
DC Vote
Defenders of Wildlife
Democracy 21
Earthjustice
Endangered Species Coalition
Environmental Protection Network
GreenLatinos
Greenpeace USA
Harrington Investments, Inc.
Hispanic Federation
Humane Society Legislative Fund
Impact Fund
Innovative Green Builders
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
International Fund for Animal Welfare
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Women International
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
League of Conservation Voters
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Association for College Admission Counseling
National Association of Consumer Advocates
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Community Reinvestment Coalition
National Council of Jewish Women
National Employment Law Project
National Employment Lawyers Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Law Center
Natural Resources Defense Council
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Jersey Association on Correction
New Progressive Alliance
Ocean Conservancy
Partnership for Policy Integrity
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
People for the American Way
People’s Action
Public Citizen
Public Justice Center
Public Knowledge
Rachel Carson Council
Safe Climate Campaign
SEIU
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
Sierra Club
Union of Concerned Scientists
The United State of Women
U.S. PIRG
Voices for Progress
The Wilderness Society
Woodstock Institute
Public Comment 220: November 2019 – DOS – No XL Pipeline
November 3, 2019
The Honorable Mike Pompeo
U.S. Department of State website
Dear Mike Pompeo,
The New Progressive Alliance at http://newprogs.org/ opposes TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The impacts of this pipeline are hardly minor. The Keystone XL pipeline has already had major spills in both North and South Carolina. These are hardly isolated incidents. Perhaps the biggest pass we are giving is for tar sands oil and the great expansion of unsafe fuel transportation with pipelines, trains, and other devices. For only a partial list of pipeline accidents since 2000 see reference 3296. Even more than transportation, the problem is we are not leaving fossil fuels and dirty Tar Sands oil in the ground in the first place.
See references 7, 8, 11, 13, 18, 19, 24, 31, 47, 55, 57, 62, 138, 154, 165, 214, 304, 310, 319, 331, 335, 337, 338, 341, 381, 383, 384, 395, 427, 447, 457, 487, 501, 508, 510, 512, 530, 536, 538, 539, 543, 548, 549, 566, 567, 568 - 574, 577, 578, 586 - 588, 596 - 598, 605, 606, 640, 721 - 724, 734 - 736, 778 - 780, 784, 849 - 855, 891, 974 - 981, 1081, 1082 - 1093, 1120, 1204 - 1212, 1354, 1389 - 1430, 1564-1565, 1603-1619, 1695-1697, 1734-1737, 1742, 1743, 1775, 1792-1809, 1978-1986, 2155-2175, 2242, 2251, 2320, 2459-2468, 2575-2579, 2812, 2825-2834, 2987-2989, 3175, 3189, 3231, 3284-3315, 3494-3496, 3882-3887, 3916, 3917, 4038, 4039, 4106, 4177, 4237, 4238, and 4602-4616 of the article at http://www.newprogs.org/the_environment_under_the_democratic_republican_uniparty Further, increasing fossil fuel usage is the wrong path according to the vast majority of legitimate published scientists in the field. See the above referenced article.
Please do the right thing and stop the Keystone XL pipeline.
Public Comment 221: November 2019 – IEA-Stop supporting fossil fuels
November 7, 2019
Executive Director Fatih Birol
International Energy Agency
9 rue de la Fédération
75739 Paris Cedex 15
France
Dear IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol & IEA Governing Board Members:
In 2011, IEA chief economist Fatih Birol quite rightly said the current fossil fuel subsidies are encouraging a wasteful use of energy and that the cuts in subsidies is the biggest policy item that would help renewable energies get more market share and reduce CO2 emissions. The IEA also has correctly pointed out the advantages of renewable energy.
Unfortunately, the IEA’s World Energy Outlook (WEO), used as a guidepost for energy decisions all over the world, does not support these goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. The WEO business-as-usual approach is cited by nearly every major oil company when they need to prove to their investors, governments or the public that the world needs more fossil fuels. Analysis done by the IEA is used by politicians and fossil fuel companies to justify massive new oil and gas projects that will only make the climate crisis worse.
Please correctly report in your “World Energy Outlook” publication the urgency of climate change and the need to immediately reduce fossil fuels.
Public Comment 222: November 2019 – DOA – No logging Tongass Forest
November 8, 2019
The Honorable Sonny Perdue
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
The New Progressive Alliance at http://newprogs.org/ urges you not to exempt Alaska's 16.7-million-acre Tongass National Forest from nearly 20-year-old logging restrictions. They will not help Alaska’s economy but will significantly negatively impact the Tongass National Forest.
This will not boost Alaska’s economy. Less than one percent of Alaska’s economy comes from the logging industry. Lifting this restriction would negatively impact more prominent sectors of the economy such as tourism and fishing.
The Tongass National Forest is the world's largest intact temperate rainforest. This Forest is of global importance. Opening it to logging, mining, or oil and gas will have permanent, detrimental consequences. There are good reasons already well documented for the 20 year restrictions to preserve the Tongass National Forest.
Because they will not help the economy but will harm the Tongass National Forest, please allow the restrictions to remain.
Public Comment 223: December 2019 – Banks stop financing Fossil Fuels
The New Progressive Alliance (NPA) has previously joined with over 300 other organizations in a joint movement “Fossil Banks – No Thanks” to encourage 38 banks world wide to stop financing fossil fuel expansion. The NPA joined in writing letters to six of the major banks in the United States. The six letters are substantially the same. We give the full letter to Citi bank and then for the other five banks list the reported progress for each one.
December 2019
Concerning: Citi's progress on its fossil fuel finance since COP24
In October 2018, at the time of COP24 in Katowice, the Fossil Banks, No Thanks! (FBNT) campaign approached Citi about the unfolding impacts of the climate crisis, its direct relation to fossil fuels, and Citi's harmful role in financing the fossil fuel industry.
In our letter, we laid out three actions that we view as vital for Citi to take in order to help the world transition rapidly away from using fossil fuels:
- Publicly clarify your bank's position on the relation between climate change and the extraction and burning of fossil fuels.
- Publicly commit to immediately end your support for all new fossil fuel projects, including exploration, extraction, transportation and power.
- Publish a robust plan for phasing out your support for all existing fossil fuel projects and companies on a timetable consistent with what is necessary to meet the Paris targets.
We asked your bank to act on these three demands before COP25, which began on December 2 in Madrid. We have therefore taken stock of the progress Citi has made towards achieving these goals since COP24, which we would like to share with you:
- No progress. Citi has not further clarified its position beyond its previous statement that it will reduce its credit exposure to coal on climate grounds.
- No progress.
- No progress.
You can find the complete stock-take of 38 banks on our website, here [link].
We have to conclude that Citi is still far from severing ties with the fossil fuel industry that is the major cause of the climate crisis.
2020 - The Stocktaking year
2020 will mark five years since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement.
At COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland in December 2020, all nations signed up to the Paris Agreement will, for the first time, re-evaluate their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to meeting the Paris goals against the most recent climate science and, where needed, strengthen their commitments.
Currently, most countries are nowhere near on track with plans, let alone action, to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, which, when compared to 2 degrees of warming, is the difference between a difficult future and a deadly one for many people and ecosystems. According to Climate Action Tracker, under current global commitments, we are on track to exceed 3 degrees of warming by the end of the century. Meanwhile, 11,000 scientists have warned that the climate crisis is going to cause ‘untold suffering’ if we don’t leave fossil fuels in the ground. Creating clear and detailed plans to get out of fossil fuels is therefore a crucial step that countries must achieve by COP26.
While your bank, and the financial sector in general, is not a direct party to the Paris Agreement, we consider ‘Glasgow’ a crucial stocktaking moment for banks as well.
In October, our worst fears were reconfirmed when Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, starkly warned a UK parliamentary committee that the global financial system is funding a 4 degrees temperature rise due to its backing for fossil fuel companies. In other words, Citi's ongoing support for the fossil fuel industry is helping to drive us towards calamitous levels of warming.
On November 14, the European Investment Bank (EIB) set a new bar for climate action in the financial sector: by the end of 2021 it will no longer finance any unabated fossil fuel projects. The policy is not perfect, but it is a huge and rapid leap forward by the world’s biggest public bank. This shows commercial banks what can be done quickly with ambition to dump fossil fuels, and thereby move towards Paris alignment and getting on with the urgent business of massively increasing financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Given the outright crisis situation we all find ourselves in, we once more call upon your bank to urgently act on the three demands of the FBNT campaign posed to you in 2018: be clear to the public on how your banks sees the relation between fossil fuels and the climate crisis, immediately stop all financing for fossil fuel expansion and publish a phase out plan for your existing portfolio before the Glasgow COP in December 2020.
These three actions will prove to an increasingly skeptical and impatient public that banks want to be part of global efforts to stop the climate crisis from worsening, rather than finance its acceleration. We are committed to doing all we can to hold you to account for delivering on these actions.
Progress on JP Morgan
- No progress. While the bank already acknowledged the link between fossil fuels and climate change, it has not clarified its view of what this means for the future of the fossil fuel industry.
- No progress.
- No progress.
Progress on Bank of America
- Some progress. Bank of America more clearly links the fossil fuel industry to climate change in its new Environmental and Social Risk Framework, and indicates how it sees its future relationship to the coal and gas sectors, though not to the oil sector.
- No progress.
- No progress.
Progress on Wells Fargo
- No progress.
- No progress.
- No progress.
Progress on Goldman Sach
- No progress.
- No progress.
- No progress.
Progress on Morgan Stanley
- Some progress. In its new Environmental and Social Policy Statement, Morgan Stanley provides some clarity on its view of the coal sector and its future in relation to climate change by stating that it is committed to “devoting resources to reducing carbon emissions by continuing to increase lending and capital raising efforts for cleaner and renewable sources of energy, as well as other low-carbon finance opportunities and seeking to reduce the proportion of our energy financing to coal mining and coalfired power generation.”
- No progress. Though Morgan Stanley has introduced some restrictions on financing for coal projects, it has not taken substantial steps to exclude finance for the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.
- No progress.
