Here's what happened this week:Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, which is expected to have a detrimental impact on the jobs and economy, despite his claims. The US joins Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries that are not members of the agreement. The agreement, and its associated move towards clean-energy was expected to add jobs to the US economy relative to the potential losses, and make the US more competitive in the growing renewable energies industry. The solar and wind industries currently employ three times the number employed by the coal industry.The Choice Act, a proposed replacement for Dodd-Frank (a regulatory bill which increased financial protections for consumers after the 2008 financial crisis), is expected to move to the House floor for a vote on June 7th. The act weakens the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and raises a series of concerns:Offers protection for payday lenders: 19 million Americans resort to payday loans, which have ...
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All Eyes on ParisWith Trump considering withdrawal from the Paris climate accord this week, pressure has been mounting for the United States to stay in the agreement. During their first meeting, Pope Francis gave President Trump a copy of his 2015 encyclical that calls for action on climate change, and the Vatican's secretary of state urged Trump and his advisors to remain in the Paris agreement. G7 leaders also lobbied Trump to remain during their meeting in Sicily. Following meetings with European leaders, White House officials indicated Trump's views on climate change are "evolving," and he now has a better sense of the importance of the U.S. showing leadership by staying in the universal agreement. After the U.S. failed to join other G7 countries in reaffirming the Paris Agreement, however, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "the whole discussion about climate was very difficult, not to say unsatisfactory." The G7 leaders communique was seen as a key indicator of the current ...
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Trump's FY18 Budget Would Severely Cut Scientific ProgramsOn Tuesday, May 23, the Trump administration released its full budget proposal for FY18, which calls for draconian cuts to domestic spending, including to scientific programs. Although Congress is unlikely to include many of these cuts in its final FY18 budget, Trump's budget proposal indicates how little value the administration places on science and the programs that protect our health, environment, and wellbeing. Read more about the proposed cuts to scientific programs here.Trump Proposes Unprecedented Cut to NSFTrump's FY18 budget proposal would cut $776 million (11%) from the National Science Foundation (NSF), marking the first time that a sitting president has proposed cutting the budget of the NSF in the 67 years it has been in existence. The number of Graduate Research Fellowships would be cut in half, to just 1,000 per year. The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which provides support f...
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Understanding and Resisting Trump's FY18 Budget
On Tuesday, Trump released his proposed full FY18 budget. This is a budget that hits hard at every demographic, including our nation's most disadvantaged populations - children, those with disabilities...
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Trump Proposes Deep Cuts to Science BudgetsOn Tuesday, May 23, the Trump administration released its full budget proposal for FY18. Like the President's initial proposal, released on March 16, the full budget proposal calls for draconian cuts to domestic spending, including to scientific programs:$7.7 billion (22%) cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)$3.1 billion (18%) cut to non-nuclear security programs at the Department of Energy (DOE)$2.6 billion (31%) cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)$776 million (11%) cut to the National Science Foundation (NSF)Elimination of the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)Elimination of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant and education programsSee more analysis: Science, STAT, Quartz, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Hill.Ultimately, though, it is the responsibility of Congress to set the US budget, and much of Trump's budget proposal has little chance of being enacted. This pr...
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EPA Regulations. In response to an executive order requiring agencies to reexamine burdensome regulations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested public comments regarding which regulations might be applicable. Instead of the expected laundry list of industry requests, EPA got an earful from nearly 100,000 commenters, many urging the agency not to remove regulations. Commenters from manufacturing and mining communities to urban areas shared stories of dirty air and water. Rise Stronger partnered with several groups to assist in preparing comments defending the environment, and many Rise Stronger members submitted their own comments to EPA.
Transportation joins the anti-climate game. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published a rulemaking at the end of the Obama administration, requiring state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to measure and set targets for highway reliability, freight movement, congestion, greenhouse ...
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Make your voice heard by May 26th and Save Bears Ears National Monument!The U.S. Department of the Interior is conducting a review of certain National Monuments designated or expanded since 1996 under the Antiquities Act of 1906 in order to implement Executive Order 13792 of April 26, 2017. To ensure consideration, written comments relating to the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted before May 26, 2017. Written comments relating to all other National Monuments must be submitted before July 10, 2017. Rise Stronger will put out another Call to Action before the July deadline covering other monuments.How to Submit a Comment Go to https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=50&so=DESC&sb=postedDate&po=0&dct=PS&D=DOI-2017-0002 Click "Comment now"Personalize or edit the statement below and copy and paste it into the boxSubmit!What to SayDear Secretary Zinke, [insert personal narrative about a national park, or Bears Ears if applicable]Our national monument...
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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
Ladies & Gents, We have a special counsel! And that's the way the cookie crumbled...seems to be an appropriate way to kick off this week's United States of Resistance digest. Your demands worked. We now have a s...
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Global Cyberattack Affects Hundreds of ThousandsA global cyberattack, involving ransomware called WannaCrypt, affected over 200,000 computers in over 150 countries through the weekend, after first emerging on Friday, May 12. The attack exploited a flaw in Windows computers that was originally used by the National Security Agency (NSA) before being leaked earlier this year. A statement from Microsoft highlighted the need for governments around the world to "consider the damage to civilians that comes from hoarding these vulnerabilities and the use of these exploits" and reiterated its call for "a new 'Digital Geneva Convention' to govern these issues, including a new requirement for governments to report vulnerabilities to vendors, rather than stockpile, sell, or exploit them."Trump Signs Executive Order on CybersecurityOne day before the cyberattack, on Thursday, May 11, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) on Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critica...
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What You Can DoSign up for updates from the CarsonWatch powered by our friends at Public Advocates in collaboration with the Poverty & Race Research Action Council, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and PolicyLink.Share your own stories about HUD's impact on your lifeSee how HUD budget cuts impact your specific communityQuestions to Ask Your Member of CongressDo you agree with Secretary Carson's stance on making life that much harder and uncomfortable for those who benefit from HUD programs?Why is there still no infrastructure bill?In an exclusive interview with the New York Times, President Trump indicated that he may attach infrastructure funding to a new health care bill, since it has bipartisan support. Specifically, the President said, "Yeah. I may put it in with something else because it's a very popular thing. We've spent $6 trillion in the Middle East, as of two months ago … uh, $6 trillion ... and yet we can't fix our own roads and our own highways. And...