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The United States of Resistance is a weekly industry newsletter sharing the top news from across the resistance. Please share with others! Sign up | Archived Newsletters
Resistance Spotlight: Civic Engagement Fund
Founded in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, we focus on understanding and giving voice to the diverse millennial voting coalition; providing support for new resistance organizations, and producing thought leadership on civic cyber security. Our goal is to inform, empower and defend the new progressive movement. Contact us at [email protected].
RISE Stronger's People's Guide to August Recess
It's almost August recess for Congress, making it a critical time for you to engage with your elected officials. Representatives began their break on July 31, but the Senate Majority Leader pushed back the beginning of their August recess by two weeks to August 14. Congress will be back in session after the Labor Day weekend on September 5.
The RISE Stronger People's Guide to August Recess will arm you with the information you need to ask challenging, hard-hitting questions of your representatives at town halls, meetings or other events. We overview key topics on the national agenda across a range of areas, ranging from government ethics to the environment, national security, justice, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and science and technology. Key topics are summarized with background information and relevant questions for you to ask, as well as additional resources for you to better understand the topic.
You can view the full guide here or download the PDF here.
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Trump, Cotton, and Perdue Propose Slashing Legal Immigration by Fifty Percent
The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act, proposed by Republican Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, and endorsed by Trump, would slash legal immigration levels in half over the next decade, from more than 1 million to just over 500,000.
In a Trump administration email yesterday morning, the White House said that the RAISE Act will "create a merit-based immigration system that protects our workers, our taxpayers, and our economy." This statement is far from reality. Researchers have found time and again that immigration boosts the economy, results in American workers landing higher paying jobs, and has an economic multiplier effect on job creation. Ask your Congressmen to stand their ground and oppose the RAISE Act.
Commission Calls on Trump to Act on Opioid Epidemic
Opioid overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, but little policy action has been taken by the Trump administration to deal with the epidemic. In March, the President signed an Executive Order that created a commission "to study the scope and effectiveness of the Federal response to drug addiction and the opioid crisis… and to make recommendations to the President for improving that response." The Commission, chaired by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, finally presented its interim report to the President on Monday, July 31 (after failing twice to meet its 90-day deadline previously).
The Commission calls on the President to declare a National Emergency to galvanize a coordinated and robust Federal response to the epidemic. Other recommendations include: 1) creating a federal fund to increase access to medication-assisted treatments for opioid addiction, such as methadone and buprenorphine (though HHS Secretary Tom Price has previously made false statements about these medications), and work with the NIH to develop new treatments; 2) supporting legislation to expand access to naloxone, a lifesaving overdose-reversing medication; and 3) increasing funding for state-run prescription drug monitoring programs, and other recommendations. However, it is unclear what actions, if any, the President will take on these recommendations, which would likely require increased funding for Medicaid, the NIH, and other federal agencies in order to implement effectively.
Week 27 in Science & Technology
This week in Science & Tech, the House Passes “Minibus" Appropriations Bill Before Recess; More Examples Emerge of Trump Administration Disarray and Abuse of Power. Read more from RISE's Policy team here.
Must Read: Slate, The Department of Justice is Building a Shadow Civil Rights Division
"The New York Times reported that the Trump administration is preparing to use the civil rights division of the Justice Department to attack universities with affirmative action programs. According to an internal Justice Department job posting, officials are trying to recruit career attorneys to work on “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions." While the memo did not make explicit reference to affirmative action, civil rights advocates interpreted it to mean that President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are concerned about race-conscious policies that allegedly place white students at an unfair disadvantage in the college admissions process." Read the full story here.
National Call to Action to #DefendCville Against the Unite the Right: March on Charlottesville
Join Black Lives Matter and allies to #DefendCville and say #NoNewKKK for a weekend of action, August 11-13. The “Unite the Right: March on Charlottesville" rally on August 12th, 2017 is slated to draw hundreds of members of white supremacist and white nationalist groups to Charlottesville, Virginia. Black Lives Matter invites you to choose to believe in the fight for justice and the solidarity of community; to take part and together face this consolidation of hate groups, and the risk of police use of excessive force, with nonviolent direct action. Learn more about the weekend of action here.
What Else is Going on in Washington
Here are a just a few things to keep your eyes on.
- Mueller issues grand jury subpoenas related to Donald Trump Jr.'s 2016 meeting. Here's what that means, according to Politico.
- Trump signed the Russia sanctions bill, which also imposed sanctions on Iran and North Korea. The bill also limits Trump's authority to lift those sanctions on his own.
- Senate blocked Trump from making recess appointments.
Interested in Working with RISE Stronger?
Are you interested in working with other RISE members in your state's chapter to have impact on-the-ground impact in your community? Would you like to support our RISE policy working groups? Or are you interested in learning more about RISE initiatives nationally? Fill out this brief member interest survey and we'll be in touch over the coming weeks.
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Did we miss something? Know of a story or development worth sharing with the Resistance? Send us a note at [email protected].
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