INDIVISIBLE Lambertville NJ / New Hope PA

Author: Indivisible Lambertville / New Hope

  • H.R.1 – The Opening Act for the 2019 House of Representatives

    Contributed by Hui Chen.

    The first act of the newly Democrat-controlled House is to give power back to the people and bring ethics back into our government. H.R. 1 – the For the People Act – covers three main areas of reform:

    • Campaign Finance: requiring disclosure of information such as “dark money” and super PAC political donors, of political spending by those who do business with the federal government, of sources for political ads on Facebook and Twitter. It would also provide a matching-fund program for House candidates who agree to raise only small-dollar contributions.
    • Ethics: requiring disclosure of tax returns for candidates for president and vice president – and current holder of those offices; enhance oversight and enforcement power of the Office of Government Ethics; strengthen ethics in the legislative branch by prohibiting members of Congress from using taxpayer money to settle harassment and discrimination cases, and in the judicial branch by creating a new code of ethics for the United States Supreme Court.
    • Voting Rights: creating an automatic voter registration system to change voting from an opt in to an opt out process, promoting early voting, same-day, same-day voter registration, and online voter registration.  It would enhance election security against foreign interference, and end gerrymandering by moving the Congressional districting power from state legislature to independent commissions.


    How would these proposed measures help our democracy?
    Campaign finance reforms helps make our elected officials answer to us as much as they answer to big money. Running for office is a very expensive endeavor. Everything from signs to brochures to television ads and campaign events costs. It’s a reality that creates continuous pressure for those in office to feel beholden to their financiers. The disclosures proposed by H.R.1 would give us transparency to those relationships so that our officials know we would be watching them. The public matching fund for small donations will also shift more power to individual donors like us.

    Government ethics fights corruption and makes sure no one is above the law. Federal government workers, like all other professionals, must abide by strict ethics rules. These rules are there to ensure they conduct government business without the conflict of interest: that laws and regulations are enforced, and contracts and projects awarded, not for their personal benefits or pleasure, but in the interest of the public. The proposed measures under H.R.1 would apply at least some of these rules to elected officials, and to Supreme Court justices.
    Voting rights helps every voter be counted. Our entire democracy is premised on people’s ability to vote. Over the last election, we worked hard for every vote. The proposed measures under H.R. are to make sure every voter gets the best chance to exercise that vote, and that when those votes are counted, they are free from manipulation.


    Call to Action: What can you do to support H.R.1?
    H.R.1 is a large package, and pieces of it are now going into various House committees for deliberation. Find the topics that speaks to you and which committees will be addressing them. Learn the issues, talk to your network, and express your support on social media, in public, and to your representatives. Remember, the overall message of this bill is about democracy and ethics.

    Hui Chen is a member of ILNH and a former prosecutor and expert consultant with the US Department of Justice who publicly resigned due to concerns about ethics in the Trump Administration. As an expert in organizational ethics, she is a regular columnist in Bloomberg Law and commentator on MSNBC. Twitter @HuiChenEthics.

  • Hot Topic: Government Shutdown

    Contributed by Paige Barnett.

    According to Trump, the United States needs a border wall between us and Mexico for reasons unfounded – yet supported by Trump’s base. Using fear-mongering tactics¹ and untruths, Trump said that he’d build a wall to protect us from the thousands of criminal immigrants illegally crossing the border; that protection is needed against the hordes of gangs who are invading our streets, running drugs and trafficking humans. He said he’d make Mexico pay for it.

    Flash forward, Trump is demanding $5.7 billion dollars from U.S. taxpayers to build this unnecessary wall.  He’s dismissed any attempt by Democrats who offered $2.5 billion for border security to be applied to more effective means, i.e. drones, tunnel detection, immigration judges, etc.²  In response, (sort of) Trump suggested a steel wall instead of a concrete wall and has doubled down on his demand for $5.7 billion dollars.

    As a result of failed negotiations, Trump issued an Executive order which shuttered executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. As of December 24th, said agencies are closed and/or are working without pay.  We are now in the midst of the 2nd longest – and soon to be longest – government shutdown with not an end in sight.  Trump is willing to extend the shutdown “ for months or even years.”3  

    From one impulsive moment on his campaign trail, Trump’s promise to build this border wall has evolved into a crisis of his own design.  Each side blames the other for the stalemate. But the Democratic-controlled House voted January 3rd to pass a bill that would re-open the government without provisions to fund the wall.  Senate Majority leader McConnell will only bring a spending bill to the floor of the Senate that Trump supports.⁴ In a rebuttal statement to Trump’s eight-minute speech on Tuesday evening,  Pelosi and Schumer said there is no reason for keeping the government partially shuttered because wall negotiations can and should remain separate from wall funding negotiations.4

    Here is a list as published by the New York Times of how the government shutdown is affecting people and places.

    Call to Action!

    • Call, text “resist” to 50409 or tweet your Congresspersons and Senators and let them know you adamantly oppose funding a wall.  Also, thank your Congresspersons and Senators if they’ve opposed funding this blatantly unnecessary wall.
    • Support local and regional food pantries and organizations assisting those who are out of work or working without pay due to the shutdown. Many are leaning heavily on these organizations to make ends meet while waiting for the next paycheck.

    Sources

    ¹https://thinkprogress.org/trumps-border-fear-mongering-is-far-from-reality-26ed4da50603/

    ²https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/06/government-shutdown-2019-negotiations-continue-white-house-congress/2491460002/

    ³https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/07/government-shutdown-becomes-the-third-longest-ever.html

    ⁴https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/house-democrats-prepare-vote-to-reopen-government-as-cracks-appear-in-gop-opposition/2019/01/03/24151490-0f96-11e9-8938-5898adc28fa2_story.html?utm_term=.4886a4b140bd

  • What the Heck is Going On In Our State Legislatures?

    Contributed by Amara Willey.

    Pennsylvania

    Although Democrats picked up a few seats in the Pennsylvania legislature and Governor Tom Wolf stayed in office, Republicans retained control of the House and Senate. We see the Republican caucus moving in a more conservative direction as moderates lost seats to Democrats.

    Nevertheless, there are several interesting bills to watch this year in Pennsylvania in the areas of fair pay, the environment, and legalization.

    • Changes to overtime pay – A bill mandating “white collar” employees be paid overtime if their weekly salary is under $610 per week. The salary minimum would increase after the first and second year respectively, forcing employers to pay overtime or increase wages. The state projects that the change would affect 460,000 workers.
    • Limiting methane from existing gas and oil wells – Stricter emissions standards were applied last year to new gas and oil wells. This bill would limit VOCs including methane gas from existing wells. Even though federal Environmental Protection Agency standards may be withdrawn, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection intends to push forward with this bill. Concerns about the bill involve potential costs.
    • Nuclear power – Lawmakers in the Energy Caucus recommended in a Nov. 2018 report that nuclear power be added to the list of alternative energy sources in the Alternative Energy Performance Standards program, which requires power distributors and generators to get 18 percent of their electricity from alternative sources such as wind, solar or biofuels by 2021. Two nuclear power plants are scheduled to close in the near future, the Three Mile Island plant outside Harrisburg in September 2019 and the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station outside Pittsburgh in 2021. PA’s current 9 reactors at 5 plants provide 42% of the state’s electricity. Decommissioning these plants would increase carbon dioxide emissions.
    • Marijuana legalization and expansion of medical cannabis – Since New York and New Jersey are likely to legalize recreational marijuana this year, Pennsylvania is taking another look at this issue, due to economic pressure from neighboring states. Governor Wolf has indicated he would sign this bill, but State Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman is opposed to the bill.

    New Jersey

    In New Jersey, hot issues also include the environment, fair pay and legalization. While a small minimum wage hike from $8.60 to $8.85 was achieved in 2018, Governor Phil Murphy failed to get the state legislature to pass the proposed $15/hour minimum wage or marijuana legalization that he had thought was a slam dunk. Both are being revisited in 2019.

    • Minimum wage – A bill, introduced in December, calls for a gradual increase in the minimum wage to $15/hour. The concern is that the higher wage will put N.J. at a competitive disadvantage though people might engage in more discretionary spending.
    • Earned sick leave – Regulations are proposed to a 2018 law requiring employers to allow eligible employees to accrue one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked. Certain of the guidelines contradict the original statute and could provoke legal challenges.
    • Marijuana legalization – Legalization of recreational marijuana would include licensing production and sale of the substance and create the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) as an oversight organization. Outstanding issues include tax structure, how much power the CRC would have, and unionization of the industry.
    • Wind power – N.J. became the biggest single-state solicitor of offshore wind energy last year and will seek to expand the program in 2020 and 2022. The goal of the legislation is to provide 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030. The program will create jobs, boost regional economy, and help mitigate the effects of climate change, according to BPU president Joseph L. Fiordaliso, as reported in Law 360.

    While federal focus may have been diverted from these issues during the current administration, N.J. and Pennsylvania. at least are addressing these important liberal agenda items.

    Sources

    For PA: https://www.law360.com/articles/1113861/pennsylvania-legislation-and-regulation-to-watch-in-2019

    For NJ: https://www.law360.com/articles/1112578/nj-regulation-and-legislation-to-watch-in-201

  • Just the Facts

     Contributed by Olga Vannucci.

    • The federal budget deficit hit $779 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2018, because tax revenues are not keeping pace with government spending.  That’s a 17% increase over the previous year. It’s projected to approach $1 trillion in 2019. (The budget deficit represents how much the federal government spends annually in excess of how much it takes in.)
    • The national debt is currently nearly $22 trillion, and it is expected to increase by over $1 trillion annually.  (The national debt represents the total amount that the federal government owes. Each annual deficit adds to the debt.)  In addition, federal agencies have debt of another $9 trillion.
    • The Trump administration‘s proposed changes to environmental policies would lead to an extra 80,000 deaths per decade and respiratory problems for more than a million people, many of them children.
    • President Trump has made over 7,600 false or misleading claims in 700+ days.
    • There are over 1,530 reports of corruption by Trump, his family and his administration.
    • How often do our members of Congress vote with Trump?

    Senator Toomey 89% of the time

    Rep. Lance 87%

    Rep. Fitzpatrick 84%

    Senator Casey 32%

    Senator Menendez 26%

    Senator Booker 16%

    Sources:  

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/16/government-spending-how-rising-federal-debt-deficit-impact-americans/1589889002/

    https://www.usgovernmentdebt.us/ https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/14/17463430/trump-environment-policies-public-health-epa  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.26f31591f03b

    https://corrupt.af/

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/

  • Accountability and The Activist

    Contributed by Deb Kline.

    “You’ve always had the power, my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself.”

    Glinda, the Good Witch

    Among the issues attendees at the Indivisible Lambertville / New Hope November Community Gathering highlighted as important is the issue of accountability. We recognize that as an electorate, until quite recently we’ve been relatively remiss in holding our government officials accountable. We’ve been shaken out of the belief that the Constitution automatically ensures accountability through the three separate branches that are designed to hold one another in check, and through regular, free elections. We are coming to understand that accountability starts with a good look in the mirror, accepting our role and responsibility to keep a watchful eye on the government, and to actively communicate with those who SHOULD be beholding to the citizens of the U.S..

    Political accountability refers to the responsibility or obligation of government officials to act in the best interests of society or face consequences. It seems obvious that public officials should be held responsible for their actions. Legal accountability concerns the mechanisms by which public officials can be held liable for actions that go against established rules and principles.

    DemocracyWeb.org says this about accountability:

    “Accountability and transparency tends to help create better policies and stop the abuse of power. The more the public knows about the government’s actions, the better judgements it can make about public policy. This is especially so in the case of abuse of power…. Even if leaders are not forced from office, the uncovering and investigating of malfeasance or inappropriate actions can sometimes bring about positive changes in leaders’ governance or behavior. Still, there is significant concern within democracies about the corrupting and corrosive impact of private interests in the funding of elections and how this affects public policy and laws. This is especially so in the United States.”

    The basic elements of accountability are outlined In a 1979 speech by former Comptroller of the U.S., Elmer Staats, entitled “Who is Accountable? To Whom? For What? And How?”:

    • The transmission of information regarding the actions and decisions of the person or organization being held accountable.
    • Someone to receive the information who will examine it and take necessary actions.
    • A means by which the information can be used to improve performance, correct deficiencies or reward superior service.

    On the last bullet, Staats and others highlight elections as the primary recourse of the public for holding elected officials and their appointees accountable. While undoubtedly valid, in this day and age we can no longer wait for Election Day. By then, unfortunately, the horse has left the barn and the damage may be done.

    Information is crucial to the ability to hold elected officials accountable. Information about what government officials are doing is not always easy to come by, however, and accurate information is even harder to ascertain when nearly anyone with access to the Internet can be a publisher. Further, objectivity in media has given way to bias and opinion, as well as the tendency to selectively circle the wagons around a particular story while others that may be equally important are overlooked. Finally, many of us suffer from information overload as it becomes impossible to sort through, absorb and respond to the quantity of data that comes at us on a daily basis and still maintain a somewhat normal life.

    As we become more organized as a movement, we are also learning how to manage the requirements of accountability. It’s essential that we individually align around those areas that are of most concern and demand access and transparency to the information needed to take action well before the election. Show up in local and state offices, at district headquarters of our Senators and Representatives. Call for or host public forums. Share what you learn with others who will care but may be focused elsewhere – we need to be educated by people we trust. Resolve to become a force to step up and show up, to link arms with like-minded people determined to save and improve our Democracy for all people.

    So yes, accountability begins with you, but you are not a lone wolf crying in the woods. Indivisible Lambertville / New Hope is your community and conduit of like-minded people begging to be informed, educated and activated. We have much work to do.

    _______________________

    1Accountability and Transparency: Essential Principles http://democracyweb.org/accountability-principles
    2https://www.gao.gov/assets/190/185445.pdf