What you can doCheck out the RISE Stronger Guide to the August Recess, which will arm you with information on key issues so you can ask challenging, hard-hitting questions of your members of Congress at town halls, meetings, or other events during the recess.The Department of Labor is asking for information on the impact of its 2016 overtime rule, which would increase postdoc salaries, among other benefits. You can read more about the rule here and submit your comments at Regulations.gov before September 25.Only one week remains to submit a comment to the FCC on its move to eliminate net neutrality rules. Learn more here, and submit comments directly here. Comments must be submitted by August 30.Trump's new priorities for science policy conflict with his own proposed budget cutsOn Thursday, August 17, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a memo that provides the first outline of the Trump administration's p...

Read More

The Trump administration has nominated Eric Dreiband as head of the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ despite, or perhaps because of, his long history of protecting employers from civil rights lawsuits. Though the former Vice Chair of the EEOC described him as a very smart lawyer, with integrity, dedicated to civil rights laws, both she and Dreiband have spent most of their professional lives advocating on behalf of employers involved in employment and civil rights disputes.In this regard, Dreiband is no slouch. He represented Abercrombie & Fitch at the Supreme Court, unsuccessfully arguing that they were entitled to discriminate against a woman for wearing a headscarf based on their 'look policy.'More recently Dreiband has represented RJReynolds against EEOC in a claim of age discrimination, which he won strongly at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal, a court dominated by Clinton and Obama nominees. He also represented Bloomberg L.P. against the EEOC on issues of pregnancy and mat...

Read More

The Trump administration Department of Justice (DoJ) has inserted itself into a private lawsuit in an attempt to roll back anti-discrimination protections for LGBT Americans in the workplace. The administration has taken the unusual step of arguing for both sides of a civil rights case. At issue in Zarda v. Altitude Express, is whether Title VII protects workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation. In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed an amicus brief arguing that Title VII, which bans discrimination based on sex, also applies to sexual orientation because "such claims necessarily involve impermissible consideration of a plaintiff's sex, gender-based associational discrimination, and sex stereotyping." This is the same position taken by the Department of Justice and EEOC under Obama. However, in July, the DOJ filed an amicus brief arguing the exact opposite. The DOJ now claims that "sex" as defined in Title VII does not include sexual orientation and...

Read More

What you can doCheck out the RISE Stronger Guide to the August Recess, which will arm you with information on key issues so you can ask challenging, hard-hitting questions of your members of Congress at town halls, meetings, or other events during the recess.The Department of Labor is asking for information on the impact of its 2016 overtime rule, which would increase postdoc salaries, among other benefits. You can read more about the rule here and submit your comments at Regulations.gov before September 25.The FCC has extended its deadline for public comments on its move to eliminate net neutrality rules. Learn more here, and submit comments directly here. Comments must be submitted by August 30.Want to show your opposition to organized hate groups? Check out Indivisible's Stand in Solidarity with Charlottesville page to find an event near you.Executives resign from Trump council in wake of Charlottesville responseAs of Tuesday, August 15, six executives have resigned from Presiden...

Read More

What you can doCheck out the RISE Stronger Guide to the August Recess, which will arm you with information on key issues so you can ask challenging, hard-hitting questions of your members of Congress at town halls, meetings, or other events during the recess. The Department of Labor is asking for information on the impact of its 2016 overtime rule, which would increase postdoc salaries, among other benefits. You can read more about the rule here and submit your comments at Regulations.gov before September 25.Researchers concerned about border wall's impact on endangered speciesBefore leaving for the August recess, the House approved $1.6 billion in funding for the Trump administration's proposed border wall, a move that has worried conservation biologists who believe the project will hurt efforts to recover endangered species, including the jaguar. A recovery plan for the jaguar released last year requires connectivity across the border to rebuild the population. In an interview wit...

Read More

Delay to Ozone Limiting Regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Wednesday that it would not delay implementing an Obama era regulation on smog-forming pollutants from smokestacks and tailpipes. In June, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced he would extend the October 1 deadline to implement the regulations, which lower the maximum acceptable ozone emissions, a major component of smog. Pruitt reversed the decision this week, the day after 16 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging the delay. However, the EPA did leave open the possibility of extending the deadline again. Pruitt's reversal is likely an acknowledgement that he would lose a court case challenging the delay in light of two recent Federal Court rulings against the EPA's attempt to delay implementing methane regulations without going through the normal administrative process. The recent court rulings against EPA merely slow the process of repealing regulations, but the EPA can still re...

Read More

Call to Action:In 2016, the Obama administration expanded the right to overtime pay to more than four million salaried workers who make less than $47,500 per year.The Trump administration distanced itself from the Obama-era rule in court, signaling that it intends to issue a watered-down replacement rule that would protect fewer workers.The Department of Labor is asking for information on the impact of the 2016 overtime rule; now is our chance to tell them that workers deserve to be paid fairly for overtime work.Before September 25, please visit https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=WHD-2017-0002 and tell the Department of Labor:To implement its 2016 Final Rule on overtime pay;To continue defending the 2016 Final Rule in ongoing litigation; andNOT to propose a replacement rule that would give fewer workers the right to overtime pay.Share your story, especially if you or somebody you know would personally benefit from the 2016 Final Rule's proposal to require overtime pay for salaried...

Read More

Introduction The August recess for Congress is here, making it a critical time for you to engage with your elected officials. Representatives began their break on July 28, and the Senate a few days later on August 3. Congress will be back in session after the Labor Day weekend on September 5.This document will arm you with the information you need to ask challenging, hard-hitting questions of your representatives at town halls, meetings or other events. The RISE Stronger Policy Working Group Program has prepared for you overviews of key topics on the national agenda across a range of areas, including the economy and jobs; education; energy and the environment; ethics and open government; foreign policy and national security; healthcare; infrastructure and urban policy; justice and civil liberties; science and technology; and trade and development. These key issues are summarized with background information and relevant questions for you to ask, as well as additional resources for yo...

Read More

This Friday, August 4, is the first deadline for our Op-Ed Project: Building a Better Society Through Science. There's still time to join us in writing op-eds in support of government funding for science, technology, and the programs that improve our society. Learn more here.House "minibus" appropriations bill would boost military, cut scienceOn Thursday, July 27, the House approved its FY18 "minibus" appropriations bill for defense, energy, and water. The bill includes cuts that, while less severe than those proposed by the President, still fall heavily on energy programs. These include a 47% cut to the budget for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Trump had proposed 69%), and elimination of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which funds research in new energy technologies. However, the bill is expected to face opposition in the Senate, which supports higher levels of funding for the Department of Energy (DOE). Also, the House bill would excee...

Read More

RISE Stronger has teamed up with 500 Women Scientists, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy (ESEP) Coalition to launch an exciting op-ed writing campaign. Join us, and speak up for science by writing an op-ed in support of government funding for science, technology, and the programs that improve our society in general. Learn more here.USDA chief scientist nominee has no science backgroundPresident Trump has nominated Sam Clovis, a former adviser to the Trump campaign, to serve as the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics, which is the chief scientist position at the USDA. Clovis, a former business administration professor at Morningside College, holds an MBA and degrees in political science and public administration, but has neither a degree nor experience in agricultural science. Clovis also describes himself as a skeptic of human-caused climate change. The Union of Concerne...

Read More