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JOBS

JOBS POLICIES, ANALYSIS, AND RESOURCES

The Jobs and Infrastructure domain tracks and reports on policies that deal with job creation and employment, unemployment insurance and job retraining, and policies that support investments in infrastructure. This domain tracks policies emanating from the White House, the US Congress, the US Department of Labor, the US Department of Transportation, and state policies that respond to policies at the Federal level. Our Principal Analyst is Vaibhav Kumar who can be reached at vaibhav@usresistnews.org.

Latest Jobs Posts

 

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Corona Virus Update:The US Death Toll Reaches 150,000

Corona Virus Update:The US Death Toll Reaches 150,000

COVID-19’s Status in the US

As the coronavirus continues spread, cases are rapidly increasing in in at least 29 states. New hotspots are Florida, California, Arizona, and Texas. High hospitalizations, especially in the four mentioned states, have led to a shortage of hospital beds. As a result, cities and states are shattering previously set records: Los Angeles reported the highest number of hospitalizations in a day (2,216), Georgia and North Carolina highest single-day increase of cases (4,688 and 2,522), Arizona had its highest deaths in a day (147) and Florida has broken its single-day case increase repeatedly over the past few weeks.

Contentiously, President Donald Trump has ordered all US hospitals to report COVID-19 data directly to the Department of Health and Human Services, bypassing the Center for Disease Control. This decision comes on the heels of statements by the President saying less testing needs to be done; such a move is likely a result of the American people’s dissatisfaction with his management of the pandemic and him wanting to keep the worsening condition out of the public eye.

Vaccines are a major hope as mask wearing is uncommon in parts of the country. The final phase of Moderna’s vaccine trial is currently underway, where there will be around 30,000 participants based out of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Oxford University’s vaccine has had promising outcomes partnered with caution, as phased trials have commenced. One issue facing all manufacturers is the commonality of adverse effects.

There have been over 16.8 million cases and over 660,000 deaths worldwide. Medical experts warn that US deaths will skyrocket into the hundreds of thousands if the nation does not get the virus under control.

 

COVID-19’s Status Internationally

The virus has continued to rage in Latin America. Colombia recently surpassed 200,000 cases, as Mexico reported at least 300 deaths in a day, their highest. Brazilian President, and frequent opposer of COVID-19 preventative measures, Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for the disease as the country surpassed 2 million cases and 80,000 deaths.

After a survey, it was found that less than a quarter of citizens in Japan are in favor of hosting the previously postponed 2021 Olympic Games planned in Tokyo. This is after Japan saw the highest daily spike of 981 new cases. An estimated 23% of residents, or 4 million people, have had the coronavirus, according to recent data. Hong Kong has experienced eight straight days of over 100 new cases per day, causing great concern.

After five days of negotiations, European Union leaders have reached an agreement on a $858 billion coronavirus stimulus package. The money is intended to fund the bloc’s recovery from the pandemic, with a focus on countries most severely hit. Since the June 21st quarantine lift, Spain has seen a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, with hotspots being in the region of Catalonia and Aragon.

New Zealand has reported their first two cases of coronavirus, after lifting restrictions and declaring the country was “virus-free” on June 8th. These cases are currently being held off the coast and are being treated in isolation.

South Africa has the fifth highest number of cases across the globe, with an aggressive case acceleration of about 30% in the last week. Iraq hit a new daily record with just under 3,000 new COVID cases. India is experiencing a surge in cases, as the total number of cases surpasses 1.5 million, with more than half a million new cases recorded in just twelve days.

United States passport holders will find that their passports are essentially useless as countries close their borders. The US has seen a spike in nearly every state and as a result, other nations are weary of allowing Americans to visit.

Analysis:

While  multiple vaccine trials are underway and countries are funneling money for vaccine efforts, there is little hope for a quick vaccine. The German Health Ministry estimated the earliest a vaccine could be available is mid-2021. The concern regarding an accelerated vaccine, that would be available sooner, is mainly over the side effects and its effectiveness. Recent trial participants have experienced prolonged discomfort, citing headaches, sore arms, fatigue, a fever and chills; all of which are common symptoms of COVID-19. It can be expected that multiple trials, with fewer side effects, will be needed to reassure people, not only in America, to take a newly developed vaccine.

On July 14th, Trump ordered all hospitals to report COVID-19 data to the Department of Health and Human Services and not to the CDC. Such a move eliminates roughly any transparency regarding this highly communicable virus. It is imperative to have reliable and transparent data when dealing with a global pandemic. The move to circumvent the proper channels from a trustworthy and science-driven organization like the CDC to the vocally anti-science Administration will undoubtedly harm the American people. Additionally, continuing to be untrustworthy in its management of Covid-19 will likely hurt the Administration and other governments when it comes time for mass vaccinations. Americans will be understandably hesitant in accepting a, presumably mandated, vaccine from the federal government after previously shrouding critical COVID-19 data.

States that have recently reopened after state-issued stay-at-home orders, are reevaluating options in the wake of an onslaught of new cases. Such backtracking in legislation is causing conflict in regions that were already opposed to the initial lockdown. Opponents of reclosure cite the economy’s fragile state as their biggest concern. Nevertheless, states must consider public health when proposing reopening. Experts predict a second wave similar to what the nation experienced in late spring, to come in the winter, during flu season. Experts, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, have made it very clear that three things are needed in order to slow the spread and ultimately save lives. Those three things being: washing hands or sanitizing, masks or face coverings, and social distancing. Rejection of these solutions by state leaders is what has caused the virus to run rampant, as seen by comparing the US to nations where such solutions were prioritized.

Most recently, Trump contradicted experts and blatantly lied during his most recent press conference. He revived his push for hydroxychloroquine use, supported a quack doctor, and incorrectly claimed that most of America is “COVID free”. This virus is currently running through the US with unabated vigor with an average of 64,000+ cases per day in the past seven days. Effective and trustworthy leadership is necessary to combat this disease and to prevent further harm on the American people.

 

Keywords:

Healthcare, health, COVID-19, virus, coronavirus, epidemic, pandemic, infection, vaccine.

Engagement Resources:

For concerns about COVID-19, please seek assistance with the Center for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, or local health officials.

 

Subscribe HERE to stay up to date with COVID-19

 

Number of COVID-19 cases and deaths as of July 29, 2020 – Consult the CDC or Johns Hopkins for an update in numbers.

 

Nation Confirmed Cases Deaths
Globally 16,940,174 664,748
United States 4,414,834 150,447
Brazil 2,552,265 90,134
India 1,531,669 34,193
Russia 827,509 13,650
South Africa 471,123 7,497
Mexico 402,697 44,876
Peru 395,005 18,612
Chile 351,575 9,278
United Kingdom 303,058 46,046
Iran 298,909 16,343

 

The November Election is in Jeopardy and Trump is the Problem

The November Election is in Jeopardy and Trump is the Problem

By Charles A. Rubin

The November Election is in Jeopardy and Trump is the Problem

July 30,2020

Policy Summary

In less than 100 days, Americans will be voting in what is arguably the most important election in our lifetimes. The continuing and potentially worsening COVID-19 pandemic is adding a unique complication to a process that is already plagued with technical and political challenges. The clear alternative to in-person balloting would be vote-by-mail, a “technology” that has been used without fraud or controversy since the Civil War.

President Trump, however, is using his bully pulpit to undermine the process before it has a chance to gain public acceptance. A tweet on May 26, 2020 unequivocally stated:

There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone…..

….living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there, will get one. That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote. This will be a Rigged Election. No way!

Without offering any alternative, the President is working feverishly to undermine the best chance for the greatest number of people to vote in November.

Analysis

The November elections bring into sharp relief a number of logistical problems that are exacerbated by the pandemic. The first issue is that the number of polling places will be significantly reduced because of a lack of personnel to staff them. Election workers tend to skew to older retired people who will shy away from a situation where they need to come face-to-face with a large number of people. Voters, in turn, will balk at travelling longer distances to the remaining polling stations for fear of the long waits that they will likely find there and also entering public places in which social distancing may be difficult.

The President has backed up his rhetoric of vote-by-mail bashing by threatening to cut federal funding to Michigan, Nevada and other states that have been proactively sending out vote-by-mail forms and falsely claiming that the states were sending “illegal” absentee ballots to voters.

Technology won’t save us either. Recent primary elections in Georgia, Texas and Iowa have been marred by breakdowns in their new electronic voting machines further undermining voter confidence.

Vote-by-mail is not without problems either. The primary election in New York demonstrated that it could take weeks to declare the winners in several key races.

We are an electorate that is accustomed to rapid results in our elections, particularly the Presidential race. The process of counting absentee ballots will be slow and add to Trump’s inevitable claims that the election has been “rigged”. The right thing to do now would be to embrace vote-by-mail and adjust the expectation that we may need to wait some time for the results to be final. We need to express faith in our local officials to conduct honest and fair elections and build the safeguards and oversight to ensure that they are.

President Trump needs to demonstrate his faith in the American people and our local election officials so that we can rise to the challenge of this momentous election. His preemptive dismissal of vote-by-mail is nothing other than an attempt at voter suppression.

Resistance Resources

  1. The National Election Defense Coalition (NEDC) has built the only bipartisan movement in defense of election security. They are educating, mobilizing, and moving the agenda for significant policy reform.
  2. Let America Vote is fighting voter suppression nationwide
  3. The National Conference of State Legislatures has published a guide for states that would like to explore all mail elections.
  4. Vote.org is the largest 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan voting registration and get out the vote (GOTV) technology platform in America
Trump Deploys Troops to Chicago to Help His Re-Election

Trump Deploys Troops to Chicago to Help His Re-Election

 By Erika Shannon

July 28, 2020

Policy Summary

The Trump Administration has announced a plan to deploy federal agents to several American cities as a part of “Operation Legend” and the so-called “Protecting American Communities Task Force.” The federal agents started being deployed as early as June as a rejoinder to the George Floyd protests. Trump’s claim is that he wants to help curb street violence; violence that he says is worsened by anti-police policies. Chicago is at the forefront of the cities that the Trump Administration has their eyes on. The plan is to send 150 federal agents to Chicago as part of an urban crime fighting strategy. There is debate as to whether or not these federal agents will act as “secret police” in the city, but Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot says she does not want the agents in Chicago to be utilized in the same way that agents deployed to Portland this month were. These federal agents have been sent to predominantly left-leaning cities, with Trump claiming they have spiraled out of control due to Democratic leadership. The Department of Homeland Security has cited an executive order regarding monuments, memorials, and statues that would allow deployment of federal troops to individual US states without their permission.

There is no doubt that Chicago needs help with their street violence issue. This past weekend in Chicago, 51 people were shot and 3 of those people succumbed to their wounds. It is a pattern that repeats most weekends in the Windy City.

Analysis

The real solution is not rooted in sending “secret police” to sweep protestors into unmarked vans or to engage in violence against demonstrators. The overwhelming feeling in Chicago is that militarizing communities does not make them safer to live in and is not guaranteed to help curb gun violence. Many believe that this is an authoritarian show of power by President Trump, and lawsuits have been filed in several cities, including Chicago. Several community organizations such as Black Lives Matter Chicago, GoodKids MadCity, and National Lawyers Guild Chicago have already filed suit, hoping to get the federal agents to back off. These organizations condemn the use of federal agents as “secret police,” and there is fear that these federal agents will interfere with lawful protests or arrest people with no probable cause that they have committed a federal crime. Using federal agents to secretly arrest people and put them into unmarked vans is a scare tactic that people are not taking lightly, in Chicago or elsewhere. Trump is trying to make a point that he is in control with the upcoming election. This move will only cause tensions, that are already high, to continue rising.

Resistance Resources

  • Black Lives Matter Chicago is an organization that is volunteer-run and fights for justice in Chicago. They work to end state violence and criminalization of Black communities
  • First Defense Legal Aid is an organization that will send an attorney to anybody being held by the Chicago Police or other Cook County Police Departments. They mobilize attorneys to help with public defense
  • The #LetUsBreathe Collective is an alliance of artists and activists that organize through a creative lens to imagine a world without prisons a
The Corruption of Andrew Wheeler

The Corruption of Andrew Wheeler

USRN Corruption Blog Post 

The Corruption Blog  digs into the details of the all-encompassing corruption of the Trump administration. 

Post # 19 The Corruption of Andrew Wheeler 

By Sean Gray

July 27, 2020

The Environmental Protection Agency has a wide range or responsibilities related to human health and conservation. With limited time remaining to avert the worst consequences of climate change, its mission has never been more crucial. Donald Trump and many of his allies have long been skeptical of the scientific consensus that the planet is warming at an untenable rate, primarily as a result of human activity. Andrew Wheeler, the former coal lobbyist, is the EPA’s  current administrator. He serves at the pleasure of the president, and is tasked with ensuring safe land, air, and water in the US. In more than two years on the job, his fealty to the president has influenced a rash of policies that run counter to his department’s stated goals.

Wheeler’s credentials make him a questionable choice for his position. He did work for the EPA in the early 1990’s. Since then his career trajectory has taken a hard left turn. Wheeler was Chief Counsel to Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, the most ardent and outspoken opponent of climate change science in Congress; the senator once brought a snowball on the Senate floor to disprove global warming. Wheeler would later serve the same role for the Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public works. Most of his time was spent reducing regulations on pollutant industries. More recently, Wheeler served as a lobbyist for Murray Energy, the fourth largest coal producer in the country. When he was confirmed as deputy director of the EPA, Wheeler was asked whether or not he accepted the scientific consensus on climate change. He acknowledged that human beings have an impact on the environment, but what impact was unclear. A simple ‘’no’’ would have been briefer while expressing the same sentiment. He was confirmed by a 52-47 vote, mostly along party lines.

Rather than focus his  agency’s urgent environmental protection agenda, Wheeler has made it his mission to save the coal industry and increase pollution. Upon Trump’s election, Wheeler was present at a closed door meeting attended by his former boss, Bob Murray, of Murray Energy. The eponymous CEO brought with him drafts of six executive orders that amounted to a wish list beneficial to him and his industry. Among them were a repeal of the EPA’s finding that greenhouses gases cause environmental harm and a revocation of tax credits on wind and solar energy. Trump’s signature never found its way onto any of the drafted executive orders, but the meeting, and Wheeler’s attendance are demonstrative of the influences guiding his decision making process.

As one could envisage, given his track record, Wheeler has taken a combative stance towards pollution-reducing regulation. His environmental assaults are too numerous to list, but some of the highlights include:

  • Proposing to eliminate an Obama-era rule which restricts the emission of mercury from coal and oil fire power plants. Using cost-benefit analysis the previous administration determined reducing the amount of particulates in the air would prevent 11,000 premature deaths and represent $80 billion in public health benefits. Trump’s EPA distorted the numbers by magnitudes to reach a finding in the opposite direction. 20 states are currently suing to keep the rule in place.
  • The Trump administration is in the final stages of weakening emissions standards in the auto industry. The SAFE rule will increase carbon emission standards in the transportation sector by 1.5% annually rather than 5% annually under the previous guidelines. Wheeler said in a statement the move strikes the correct regulatory balance between protecting the environment and setting attainable goals for car manufacturers. The administration’s stance is that the deregulation will result in cheaper vehicles for American consumer. Not only is this unsupported by data (fuel-efficient cars are cheaper over time), but the change is expected to add one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As he has been for most of his tenure, Wheeler is in lock step with his boss and out of touch with relevant scientific data.
  • Wheeler has seized on the Covid-19 pandemic to further denigrate the EPA’s work. In March, as he announced the indefinite suspension of all inspections and enforcement related to environmental laws. he informed companies that not only needn’t they meet environmental standards during the pandemic, but that the agency would not seek retroactive penalties for noncompliance.

Under the guise of increased transparency, Wheeler has sought to undermine the efficacy and reliability of his own agency’s data. By law, the EPA is required to use the best available science to inform policy decisions. Wheeler’s paradoxically named ‘’Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science’’ proposal directly conflicts with the law. The rule change would ban the use of all science in which the underlying raw data is not made publicly available. On the surface it seems benign. However much of the information gathered to inform policy, specifically relating to human health, is acquired under strict confidentiality agreements. Precluding data gathered in such fashion would do little to increase meaningful transparency. Worse, it would hinder government scientists by allowing bureaucrats to determine what information influences their policy recommendations. The rule was proposed in April of 2018 and was recently shot down in a vote by the House Appropriations Committee. An amendment banning its passage is included in an upcoming spending bill heading to the Senate. While it appears unlikely to become law, the regressive proposal is antithetical to the work of the Environmental Protection Agency.

At a 2019 rally, Trump bragged that the US had the cleanest air and water anywhere on Earth. He was apparently oblivious to a federal report released earlier in the same day showing an increas in polluted air days over the previous two years, versus the two years prior to his election. According to the State of the Air report, issued by the American Lung Association, nearly half the country’s population live in counties with unhealthy ozone or particle pollution. Neither Wheeler or Trump is solely responsible for these conditions, but their agenda has undoubtedly exacerbated the issue and will continue to do so.

Scott Pruitt, another former coal lobbyist, proceeded Andrew Wheeler as head of the EPA. He resigned amid 14 individual conflict-if-interest  investigations by the Government Accountability Office. Wheeler may lack ethics violations typical of a corrupt public official, but the damage he’s wrought is more significant than a few military charters on the taxpayer’s dime. Like climate change itself, the only part of Wheeler’s job performance up for debate is how bad the damage will be.

Trump’s Escalation of Tensions in Portland: Who Does It Benefit?

Trump’s Escalation of Tensions in Portland: Who Does It Benefit?

Trump’s Escalation of Tensions in Portland: Who Does It Benefit?

Summary

Recent weeks have seen growing unrest in Portland, OR in response to the deployment of federal officers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

This deployment comes as a result of President Trump’s June 26, 2020 Executive Order, which was issued in response to the destruction of several national monuments as part of the protest movement ignited by the police killing of George Floyd.

The protests have continued for nearly two months and have morphed into more localized movements with varied objectives and demands. The mass unemployment, financial instability, and stir craziness of huge portions of the population due to the Covid-19 pandemic has no doubt contributed to the tense standoff. Add the political theatrics guiding decisions in a presidential election year, and the explosive situation begins to make sense.

While deploying the DHS officers was ostensibly intended to protect federal property from destruction by protesters (or “violent anarchists” according to DHS), their presence has  led to an escalation of the protests. Many photos on social media depict the scenes of a brutal police state or foreign military invasion. Outrage was echoed around the country in response to reports of unidentified, heavily armed officers driving up in unmarked vans and abducting citizens off the street without explanation. In response, a “Wall of Moms,” “Wall of Dads,” and most recently a “Wall of Vets” have represented the public opposition to this heavy-handed occupation.

Most of these officers come from a group known as BORTAC (Border Patrol Tactical Unit), the Border Patrol’s equivalent of a SWAT team, which is normally tasked with investigating drug smuggling organizations. According to a leaked internal DHS memo, these officers have not been specifically trained in riot control or mass demonstrations. The memo seems to acknowledge the problems created by this lack of training: “Moving forward, if this type of response is going to be the norm, specialized training and standardized equipment should be deployed to responding agencies.”

A separate DHS internal memo revealed that federal intelligence agencies are using the opportunity to gather information on the protesters.

Analysis

The deployment of federal officers from the DHS into Portland, OR has shifted Trump’s “law and order” rhetoric into an authoritarian reality.

Despite the pretense of protecting federal property, the forceful occupation of the city by DHS troops against the will of the Democratic mayor has only intensified the protests. Tensions have grown as news media report on these events to countless people confined in their home.

No doubt this escalation was not only predictable but inevitable with the deployment. We might look one step deeper into what Trump hopes to accomplish through the escalation.

Given his sagging numbers relative to Joe Biden, nothing weighs more heavily on Trump’s mind at present than his reelection.

When it comes to his handling of the Covid-19, only 32% of Americans approve of Trump’s actions, and he has recently shifted tone on recommendations for wearing a mask after months of defiance. Meanwhile, coverage of the protests is triggering an  increasingly divisive reactions depending on your news source. This situation tends to cause Americans to fight against one another, with Trump’s base going to his defense without considering the contradiction of sending armed federal troops to deal with peaceful protests..

The photos and videos depict a standoff that mesmerizes, overwhelms, and divides, and they also represent a genius way for the president to distract from the failures of Trump and Congress. Trump’s aggressive efforts to send federal troops to partrol American cities is vicious and wrong, but by focusing on this conflict, we are playing directly into his hands.

Resistance Resources:

  • Find Your Representatives allows you to find your representatives, how to contact them, bills they’ve introduced, committees they serve on, and political contributions they’ve received.
  • GovTrack.us tracks the United States Congress and helps Americans participate in their national legislature.
Michigan-Part 1

Michigan-Part 1

2020 Congressional Campaign Update

2020 Congressional Campaign Updates is a new feature of U.S. RESIST NEWS. It is intended to  help our readers follow Congressional   races in the House and Senate that are key to the ability of democrats to gain control of both houses of Congress.

Update # 6

Michigan-Part 1

By: William Bourque

Presidential battleground state election results are great predictors of what direction the nation is headed politically, and Michigan is the perfect exemplar.  In 2016, Michigan fell narrowly to President Trump, which aligns with the results of presidential election in that year.  The results from Michigan’s 2018 Congressional election didn’t quite align with the national trend with House of representative seats going to  9 Republicans and 5 Democrats.

Michigan also  has  two democratic senators, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters.  Michigan also boasts former republican-turned-libertarian Justin Amash, who, until mid-May, was running for president.

To try and figure out where Michigan might go this year, let’s take a look at some of their Congressional races.

In the 1st district, the republican’s will almost certainly keep the seat held by  incumbent Jack Bergman, who is in the midst of his second term.  The district was held mostly by Democrats until 2011, but has remained in Republican control since.  This district is one that President Trump will probably win easily.

Michigan’s 2nd district is located on the upper peninsula, a rural area of the state.  The majority of its residents identify as white and republicans are the highest registered voting group.  The incumbent is republican Bill Huizenga, who won the seat in 2010 after another republican, Peter Hoekstra, stepped down.  All polls show that democratic challenger Bryan Berghoef, a pastor who has focused on campaign finance reform, has an uphill battle.

The incumbent in District 3, Justin Amash, has had an eventful year.  He announced his bid for the presidency as a libertarian in early 2020, but decided to take his name out of the running in Mid-May.  He has also decided he will not be running for congress, which leaves an opening that could lead to a much tighter race than in the past.  Hillary Scholten, an immigration attorney, is the democratic nominee and has shown that she has a significant base, raising almost 1 million dollars.  The republican that leads in funding, via opensecrets, is Peter Meijer, a veteran and urban developer.  The republican primary on August 4th will determine the nominee, but Meijer is our bet to face Scholten.

The 4th district of Michigan is one that is strongly republican and we expect it to stay that way.  It doesn’t include any major metropolitan areas and has a strong republican base that voted for President Trump in 2016.  John Moolenaar is the incumbent  and won sizably in 2016, by about 70,000 votes.  Jerry Hilliard, who ran for the seat in 2016, is the leading candidate in the primary and we expect him to face Moolenaar but to ultimately lose.

District 5  includes a moderately sized metropolitan area, the city of Flint.  Dan Kildee is the incumbent and he seems to have a solid grasp on the seat.  Kildee has been an outspoken advocate for federal funding being given to Flint because of their water crisis and lead the way in having a $170 million relief fund sent to the city in 2016.  His likely opponent is Republican state representative Tim Kelly, who doesn’t seem to pose much of a threat. We expect the democrats to hold onto this seat by a fair margin.

We will provide continuing coverage of all of the house races in Michigan as well as house races in several key presidential battlegrounds.

Trump Signs Memorandum to Exclude Immigrants from US Census

Trump Signs Memorandum to Exclude Immigrants from US Census

Policy Summary

On July 21, President Trump signed a Memorandum that would exclude undocumented immigrants from the US Census. Congressional districts are set to be redrawn in 2021, so this effectively bars undocumented immigrants from being included in this count. Persuading immigrant communities to partake in the US Census has been a battle and many civil rights groups expressed that  only recently were they able to communicate the benefits of the US Census to immigrants many of whom are suspicious about filling out the Census form.

President Trump attempted in 2019 to include a question on the US Census where individuals were to disclose if they were in the US legally (legal immigration or citizen) or illegally. This was shut down, but the Trump Administration has been relentless in its anti-immigration endeavors.  Trump will have reduced legal immigration by 49% next year if current policies continue. The ACLU and CASA have already made statements about their plans to take Trump’s order to court and challenge the Memorandum as unconstitutional. According to the US Constitution, Congressional Representation is to be determined based on “the whole number of free persons” not only those who are American citizens. While, this basis is outdated and overtly still a slavery-era provision, it explicitly dictates immigrants’ rights to be included in the Congressional redrawing of districts to occur in 2021.

Analysis

Weaponizing the US Census will harm employers and the national economy as well as immigrant communities. The US labor force and our economic growth is intrinsically tied to migrant workers ability to live and work in the US. If the anti-immigration policies continue, the average annual labor force growth is on track to lower by 59%. During a global pandemic that has undoubtedly rocked the US medical system, economy, and academic institutions, this decline would only further US economic depression and unemployment.

Engagement Resources

  • The National Immigration Law Center: an organization that exclusively dedicates itself to defending and furthering the rights of low income immigrants and strives to educate decision makers on the impacts and effects of their policies on this overlooked part of the population.
  • Border Network for Human Rights: network to engage education, organization and participation of border communities to defend human rights and work towards a society where everyone is equal in rights and dignity.
  • The ACLU: a non-profit with a longstanding commitment to preserving and protecting the individual rights and liberties the Constitution and US laws guarantee all its citizens. You can also donate monthly to counter Trump’s attacks on people’s rights. Recently, the ACLU has filed a lawsuit challenging the separation of families at the border.
  • Center for Disease Control: the CDC provides updated information surrounding COVID-19 and the US responses
Florida’s Vote Restoration For Felons Suffers Setback At Supreme Court

Florida’s Vote Restoration For Felons Suffers Setback At Supreme Court

Policy Summary: The Twenty – Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides in Section One:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

On November 6, 2018 voters in the State of Florida approved the ballot initiative known as Amendment 4. The initiative would permit Florida felons to be restored with the right to vote after they had completed all the terms of their sentence. Florida voters approved Amendment 4 overwhelmingly with 64.55% voting in favor while 35.45% voted against the measure. In 2019, due to Republican opposition to Amendment 4, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that added an additional requirement before the right to vote was restored. SB 7066 required that felons must also pay all fines and fees associated with their sentence.

The battle then moved to the court system. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the law was constitutional. However, another suit was brought in federal district court in Florida which ruled that the additional requirements of SB 7066 violated the U.S. Constitution and therefore the court issued an injunction blocking implementation of SB 7066. That ruling was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which just ruled to uphold the injunction of the law issued by the federal district court. LEARN MORE

Policy Analysis: While this decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a win for voting rights advocates it is certainly not the end of the case. The injunction initially issued by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle was only an order to prevent the law from going into effect until the issue can be decided on the merits at a full trial. With the injunction upheld by the appeals court the law remains frozen pending the non – jury trial that had been scheduled, which will begin in April 2020.

Additionally, Governor De Santis’ has indicated that he was disappointed with the ruling and intends to appeal the decision. An appeal would likely take several months to be resolved and might not be resolved in time for the November 2020 elections. However, a number of academics have calculated that the number of felons who would have their voting rights restored is 1.4 million which can certainly sway an election or an initiative on the ballot. This explains why both parties are going to extreme lengths to fight for the future of this issue. Republicans had initially opposed Amendment 4 and suffered an unexpected defeat when voters overwhelmingly approved it. In turn, Democrats have accused Republicans of trying to oppose the popular will of voters by adding additional requirements that would blunt the move to add 1.4 million more voters to the state rolls. And if the case moves up through the appeals process and eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court that will also likely bring up the constitutional poll tax issue which was outlawed with the 24th Amendment in 1964. The stakes are certainly high and while many would have liked to have had this issue resolved in time for the November 2020 elections it seems up in the air whether 1.4 million former felons in Florida will have their voting rights restored by the end of the year. LEARN MORE, LEARN MORE, LEARN MORE

Update: On July 16, 2020 the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order in the case Raysor v. De Santis. After a long, complex and winding road through the Florida judiciary and then the federal judiciary the case reached the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The federal district court had issued a permanent injunction which resulted in the law being allowed to go into effect with a number of remedies crafted by the trial court. Judge Robert Hinkle allowed felons to rebut the presumption that they were unable to pay as determined by the State, allowed felons to seek how much they owed in order to vote (this was likely a rebuke to Florida due to the state’s admission at trial that they did not keep accurate records nor had a workable database as to what felons owe the state in terms of fines and fees) and ordered the state to let felons register to vote without being prosecuted for a violation of the law. But when the case was appealed the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an order without an opinion that did not allow the remedies from the trial court to go into effect. That move essentially did not permit felons to have their voting rights restored, for the moment. The case was then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the Eleventh Circuit court order which in effect leaves 1.4 million Florida felons without the right to cast a ballot in upcoming state and federal elections in Florida for the foreseeable future. The case will proceed on the merits at a later date but the emergency application to have the law reinstated immediately has been denied.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a dissent to the Supreme Court order. She brought up the Purcell Principle, which has played a leading role in a number of Supreme Court decisions regarding voting rights this term. The Purcell Principle, which comes from the 2006 Supreme Court case Purcell v. Gonzalez, cautions against making voting changes so close to election day in order to not confuse and burden voters who might not be up to the date on the new changes. As Justice Sotomayor sees it, by blocking the law from going into effect the court is creating more confusion for felons as they now cannot rely on a law to figure out whether they are eligible to vote. If the goal is to create a stable voting atmosphere devoid of last minute voting rules changes, then why did the Supreme Court choose a path that makes a number of last minute voting changes that causes a felon to be unsure whether they are eligible to vote or not? Justice Sotomayor’s dissent is a pointed rebuke to the reasoning and rationale the Court has charted this term with regard to voting rights. It as a disappointing moment for the issue of vote restoration for felons but the case still remains to be played out as a hearing on the merits of the issue (as well as the application of the Twenty – Fourth Amendment) is scheduled for August 2020 in the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. U.S. RESIST NEWS will provide updates and analysis for our readers as they continue to develop.

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Engagement Resources

This brief was compiled by Rod Maggay. If you have comments or want to add the name of your organization to this brief, please contact Rod@USResistnews.org.

Can the US Afford Not to Become a Nicer, Kinder Society?

Can the US Afford Not to Become a Nicer, Kinder Society?

Summary

Many feel work to be a citizen’s right as well as a personal source of income and satisfaction.  Recently US unemployment has been as high as 14.7% though some experts estimate it actually may be as high as 20%.  Labor force participation has fallen to 60.2%.  Job loss is not an equal opportunity trend.  It is well documented that low wage workers are suffering greater losses than professionally employed persons.  It also is undisputed that people of color, especially Latinos and African Americans have been hard hit by the pandemic as have women. Predictions regarding when the labor force will regain its pre-pandemic levels are fluid and growing worse with the recent virus  resurgence and the mandated school closings.  The future shape of work in American is going to change, possibly in good and bad ways.

The potential benefits for those who telecommute are enticing.  Greater flexibility in the workday; reduced or nonexistent commutes; less work associated costs such as clothes, gas, and meals; and cheaper rents/mortgages are among the most apparent.  Companies will benefit as well, saving up to $11,000 per employee expenses.  More people working remotely and at-home can have a detrimental effect on other sectors of society as these changes will cause concomitant losses in restaurant serves, retail, flying, personal services, and housecleaning.

For low wage workers the pandemic-induced economic downturn is likely to lead to fewer job opportunities and stagnant or decreased wages a pattern that has been prevalent for the past forty years.  Loss of jobs to automation, already a fear of the previous decade or more, may be accelerated.

But, perhaps the greatest economic  impact will be felt among the cohort of students who are attending high school in the era of the pandemic.It is predicted that the “at risk” populations of students of color and among low income students will suffer the greatest deprivations as a consequence to distance learning; they will lose more in educational advancement and will be more likely to drop out of schooling.  This will not only greatly impact their personal incomes but will have a significant impact on the overall economy.

McKinsey & Company has estimated that if students do not attend classes until January 2021, students with poor online instruction will loses an average of 7-11 months of skill development and those who receive no instruction will lose 12-14 months.  Those with adequate instruction will lag behind by 3-4 months compared to in-class instruction.  If classrooms are not reconvened for the spring term, the situation will be even worse.  Estimates suggest, for example, that 60% of low income students regularly log on to online instruction compared to 90% of high income students and some states have no mandated online coursework.   This will surely exacerbate current achievement gaps.  It is suggested that these achievement gaps will cost individuals the equivalent of a year’s salary over their lifetime. The cost to the economy will be about 110 billion dollars annually for the working years of the current cohort of students in high school.

In additional to lost wages, educational attainment is correlated with better health; reduced crime; decreases in incarceration; greater family stability; and increased political participation.  Addressing these deficiencies in a growing group of the population has not yet been defined in monetary terms but  we cannot afford to ignore these trends.

Policy

There are many suggestions of ways to ameliorate these issues.  For education, policy-makers need to  spend more money and create enrichment programs for students; provide greater opportunities for support, tutors, quiet workspaces; assure the necessary educational “infrastructure,” with satisfactory computers, internet access, study areas, desks, lighting, and good chairs.  Provide real skills learning and training for teachers  and mental health support for students, families, and instructors.  The federal government needs to step up to the plate and support these measures because the strain on states will make them unable to fully address these needs.

For employment, there are also many solutions, for example a living wage, daycare, adequate sick leave, family leave, and some safety measures will have real impacts.  For furloughed or unemployed workers, skills training for labor force re-entry should be a priority.

Congress must act quickly in a number of ways.  There should be a second, generous CARES act continuing unemployment aid for all including those usually ineligible; health insurance and healthcare for those who are newly or chronically uninsured; and paid sick leave and family leave with return employment. Essential societal needs, largely unaddressed in the first aid package, while profitable industries were receiving emergency aid, must be attended to.  These would include support for childcare; school and after school care; support for bargaining units for laborers; and interest free lending to support  infrastructure grsowth and job creation.  The resources are available; the will to garner them needs to be exercised over increasingly divisive bipartisan bickering.

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Resistance Resources

Trump Administration Erodes US Environmental Protection Act Designed to Protect At-Risk Communities

Trump Administration Erodes US Environmental Protection Act Designed to Protect At-Risk Communities

Environmental Policy

July 22,2020

Trump Administration Erodes US Environmental Protection Act Designed to Protect At-Risk Communities

By Jacob Morton

Summary

Donald Trump has finalized a rollback of the nation’s “Magna Carta” of environmental protection policy, the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). NEPA, signed into law 50 years ago by President Richard Nixon, requires government agencies to provide an environmental impact statement (EIS) for any proposed federal infrastructure project, such as building a pipeline or highway. The law requires full disclosure of the extent to which any project would impact the local environment, such as potential wildlife habitat disturbance, pollution of nearby water bodies, greenhouse gas emissions, and impacts on local communities. The law also plays an important role in allowing ample time for members of the public to provide input on how a federal infrastructure project will affect the health and safety of their community. Essentially, NEPA is the environmental law that requires an analysis of how any federal project will impact the environment and allows local citizens to express their concerns.

The Trump administration’s new version of the law is designed to speed up the permitting process for federal infrastructure projects. The new rule now requires a hard deadline of only “two years or less” for any environmental impact statement, shortening the review and public comment process by anywhere from 1-3 years. On average, federal environmental impact statements take 4.5 years to complete. Other revisions to the law now give federal agencies the ability to create their own categories of projects that they feel do not require an environmental impact review at all. On top of that, Trump’s new rule declares that environmental impact statements no longer need to consider a project’s “cumulative effects on climate change,” and instead, require only an analysis of any “reasonably foreseeable” impacts. This means federal projects no longer need to analyze and disclose how residual or secondary impacts resulting from the proposed project, will affect the regional environment or climate change over time.

Analysis

The oil and gas industry, along with many republican officials, have argued for years about the burdensome approval process required for federal development permits, and complain about the hurdles and delays that routinely result from pushback by environmental groups who claim violations of the NEPA law. Donald Trump himself has complained of his own frustrations as a real estate developer, having to comply with the law, which he calls a “ridiculous process” and “the single biggest obstacle to infrastructure projects.” White House officials say, “The new regulations will modernize, simplify and accelerate the environmental review process necessary to build a wide range of projects in the United States, including roads, bridges and highways.”

Despite the White House’s optimism, others view this to be an extremely dangerous, corrupt, and unethical move. Many consider the new rule to be anything but modern, rather a step backwards. Critics of the law’s revisions say, “it could sideline the concerns of poor and minority communities impacted by those projects and discount their impact on climate change.” Sharon Buccino, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, says that NEPA was designed to give communities that are disproportionately affected by pollution from federal projects, such as highways, pipelines and chemical plants, an opportunity to voice their concerns and have a say in the health and future of their communities. “NEPA gives poor and communities of color a say in the projects that will define their communities for decades to come. Rather than listen, the Trump administration’s plan aims to silence such voices,” says Buccino.

An important part of the public comment process is the opportunity for communities to suggest alternatives to the proposed project, such as a wind or solar system instead of an oil or gas pipeline. However, Trump’s new version of the law allows developers of these projects, who are applying for the necessary permits, “to limit the range of alternatives that can be considered, while communities seeking to challenge a project will now need to offer far more onerous critiques.” Kym Hunter, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, describes how the new rule makes it harder for local communities to challenge these federal projects. She explains, “It requires comments to be really specific, to cite page numbers and be really technical in ways that can be really challenging for communities. They may need to hire people to write their letters, if they can afford to do that.”

Opponents to the new rule view its elimination of the requirement to consider the cumulative effects of a project, to be particularly dangerous. “Cumulative effects” largely equates to how a project will contribute to climate change over time. For instance, the cumulative effects of building a new highway would include not just the environmental damage from the road itself, but also the impact from all the greenhouse gas emitting vehicles that will drive on it, and how this added pollution will compound upon the pollution already occurring from the existing roadways in the area. “This idea of cumulative impacts is really core to the way NEPA works,” says President Obama’s former head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Christy Goldfuss … “and arguably there is no greater environmental crisis that is tied to cumulative impacts than climate change. Because it’s really about greenhouse gases on top of greenhouse gases and other pollution adding up to this global disaster that we’re all experiencing.”

According to Trump’s new rule, only the damage caused by the road itself is required to be considered and disclosed. Not accounting for the cumulative effects of these projects greatly endangers the “poor communities and communities of color that are disproportionately selected as the site for polluting industries and projects.” Gina McCarthy, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council, argues “People have a right to weigh in before a highway project tears up their neighborhood or a pipeline goes through their backyard. Steamrolling their concerns will mean more polluted air, more contaminated water, more health threats and more environmental destruction.” McCarthy says, “Now more than ever our leaders should be helping people breathe easier, not handing out favors to oil drillers, pipeline developers and other polluters.” Brett Hartl of the Center for Biological Diversity says of the new rule, “This may be the single biggest giveaway to polluters in the past 40 years,” and Greenpeace USA calls it “a blatant attempt to silence the working-class communities of color [who were] resisting the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.”

Hartl expresses the fears many have of the new rule when he says, “NEPA’s dismantling is a win for corruption, a win for polluters, and a win for those that profit off the destruction of our planet. Everyone else loses.” Belinda Archibong, an assistant professor of economics at Barnard College of Columbia University also argues that the Trump administration is doing the opposite of what it should if it really wants to improve the economy. Considering that air pollution makes whole communities more susceptible to the coronavirus, the President should be imposing more environmental restrictions, not less. She says, “Saying ‘We’re going to pull back on regulation’ does not mean that firms are going to start hiring more people. That’s complete nonsense. All that’s going to happen is it’s going to lead to more pollution, period.” Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) says, “With today’s Trump administration rule, fossil fuel corporations will be able to ram harmful projects through without considering the pollution dangers to people in nearby neighborhoods. NEPA gives our very vulnerable communities across the country an opportunity to make our voices heard and stop pollution in our own backyards. President Trump is trying to rob us of our voice. We will not be silenced.” Environmental groups plan to challenge the administration’s revisions in court and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has vowed to reverse such rollbacks if he is elected.

Resistance Resources

  • Documented is a watchdog group that investigates how corporations manipulate public policy, harming our environment, communities, and democracy. https://documented.net/

Natural Resources Defense Council

  • Works to safeguard the earth – its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Combining the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild. https://www.nrdc.org/

Greenpeace USA

  • Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/

Center for Biological Diversity

  • At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law, and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

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