Tell Congress: Pass H.R. 4813 Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act

Petition to Congress: "Pass H.R. 4813, the Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act."` Add your name:

Mark Zuckerberg's recent testimony on Capitol Hill was a disaster. Lawmakers grilled Zuckerberg over the company's repeated privacy violations, the despicable content on its platform and its policy of allowing outright falsehoods in political ads.1 In addition to all that's already horrible, lawmakers also wanted to talk about an emerging Facebook disaster – its Libra project. Libra, like Bitcoin, is a cryptocurrency, but one under Facebook's control. In typically Zuckerbook fashion, he insisted last week that Libra should not be regulated like a bank or by the Securities and Exchange Commission.2 Zuckerberg wants Facebook to control a global currency with no oversight and no questions asked, even though his company repeatedly mishandles our private information. That's unacceptable, and Rep. Chuy García just introduced legislation that would put a stop to it. Tell Congress: Keep Big Tech out of banking. Click here to sign the petition. Facebook is currently under investigation by 47 state attorneys general and regulators in multiple nations. It recently paid a record-breaking $5 billion fine for privacy violations that allowed a right-wing firm to help sway the 2016 election. It lied to advertisers about video metrics, lied to Congress in testimony and lied about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook has created a safe haven for white nationalism, right-wing hatred, racism, misogyny, ethnic supremacism and fake news that fosters violence worldwide. And now Zuckerberg is saying: Trust us.3,4 As Rep. García put it, "Given Facebook’s track record of evading criminal liability, abusing private data, and manipulating markets with their monopolistic power, regulators should be considering how to break up Facebook, not greenlighting a new, dangerous project like Libra."5 Libra would:6 Centralize corporate control by giving Facebook more power, undermining sovereign states and giving the corporate interests behind the project the ability to distort global currencies or undermine governments at will. Promote tax dodging and money laundering by making it easier for people to hide their money in a new network with global reach. Erode freedom with no clear limits on Facebook's ability to use data from Libra purchases, bake racist discrimination into its algorithms, change the rules in the future or demand that employees take payment in currency it controls. Put consumers at risk with none of the guarantees, oversight and protections found in traditional banking. Libra is already under pressure, with a handful of major partners dropping out even before Zuckerberg's testimony. But at a time when Big Tech is increasingly looking for ways to expand its monopolistic power and use vast reams of data to move into finance, we need a more thoughtful response. Rep. García's legislation, the Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act, would prohibit Facebook and other big tech companies from preying on us with digital currencies – and we need to make sure every member of Congress knows it has our support. Click the link below to tell Congress: Keep Big Tech out of banking: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/libra-garcia?t=9&akid=34676%2E3130208%2Ee0BljK - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: John Constine, "Lowlights from Zuckerberg’s Libra testimony in Congress," TechCrunch, Oct. 23, 2019. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, "Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García Introduces Bill to Keep Big Tech Companies Out of Financial Sector," Oct. 23, 2019. Cecilia Kang, Mike Isaac and Nathaniel Popper, "Facebook’s Zuckerberg, Accused of Lying, Withstands a Washington ‘Beating,’" The New York Times, Oct. 23, 2019. Tony Romm, "Facebook will have to pay a record-breaking fine for violating users’ privacy. But the FTC wanted more." The Washington Post, July 22, 2019. Rep. García, "Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García Introduces Bill to Keep Big Tech Companies Out of Financial Sector." Public Citizen et. al., "Open Letter Calling for Libra Moratorium," July 2, 2019.

Tell Congress: Support the Students Not Profits Act 2019

The petition to Congress reads: "Support the Students Not Profits Act of 2019 to make sure for-profit colleges don't get federal aid to exploit and undereducate students." Add your name:

For-profit colleges lie to students and leave them deeply in debt. They have been repeatedly caught promising a great education and career success in order to suck tuition dollars out of students and taxpayers. Some for-profit college campuses have gone as far as bribing local temp agencies to hire graduates for a day or two in order to artificially inflate “job placement” rates.1 But despite their grifter status, these colleges receive 15% of the total U.S. financial aid each year – and a third of them get almost all their revenue from federal sources.2For-profit colleges lie to students and leave them deeply in debt. They have been repeatedly caught promising a great education and career success in order to suck tuition dollars out of students and taxpayers. Some for-profit college campuses have gone as far as bribing local temp agencies to hire graduates for a day or two in order to artificially inflate “job placement” rates.1 Progressive champions Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Sen. Sherrod Brown want to put a stop to that. They recently introduced a bill, the Students Not Profits Act of 2019, that would cut off federal aid from for-profit colleges. Can you help build momentum for the bill today? Tell Congress: Pass the Students Not Profits Act. Click here to sign the petition. This crisis is even worse with Betsy DeVos at the Department of Education. News recently broke that her department gave almost $11 million to unaccredited art schools in Illinois and Colorado.3 She spent the last three years sabotaging the Obama-era Student Aid Enforcement Unit, a move seemingly designed to help give scam artists and predatory for-profit schools a free pass.4 It should be no surprise that a billionaire champion of school privatization would be siding with greedy corporations over students. DeVos clearly doesn't care that for-profit schools are responsible for 34% of student loan defaults, despite only enrolling 9% of post-secondary students.5 She doesn't care that students are going into massive debt for little to no employment reward. She just wants to help her billionaire buddies line their pockets. Luckily, Rep. Jayapal and Sen. Brown are pushing back. Their bill would end subsidies to for-profit schools and ensure that taxpayers stop paying for the exploitation of so many of our neighbors, family members and friends. We need to build momentum for the bill now. Can you click the link below to add your name today? https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Students-Not-Profits?t=9&akid=34648%2E3130208%2E5xROoM - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action  Add your name: References: Alan Pyke, "The Inside Story Of How A For-Profit College Hoodwinked Students And Got Away With It," ThinkProgress, Feb. 28, 2015. Annie Nova, "Bill would make for-profit colleges ineligible for federal student loans," CNBC, Oct. 23, 2019. Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, "Trump administration let nearly $11 million in student aid go to unaccredited for-profit colleges," The Washington Post, Oct. 22, 2019. Danielle Ivory, Erica L. Green and Steve Eder, "Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at For-Profits," The New York Times, May 13, 2018. Americans for Financial Reform, "News Release: The Students Not Profits Act will protect public dollars from abuses at for-profit colleges," Oct. 17, 2019.

Protecting what's downstream from the proposed Rosemont mine

If you attended the Envision Tucson Sustainable Festival, you might have seen this sign from Save The Scenic Santa Ritas. Look what's just downhill of the proposed mine... The Cienga Creek flows right into Tucson's aquifer - WHERE WE STORE OUR DRINKING WATER! The proposed mine will be built in one of the most biologically diverse regions of the country. Ecotourism is a big boom to our 23 billion dollar tourist industry. Birdwatchers come from around the world to enjoy it. If the mine goes through, tourists will get a clear view of the huge, gaping pit as they drive down scenic highway 83. The economic impact of the 400 jobs that the mine will create won't begin to equal even 1 % of what ecotourism brings to our state economy. The mine is expected to be in operation for 20 years, but the devastation to the region's diverse ecosystem and our water supply will last for hundreds of years.

Mark, a member of Sustainable Tucson's Environmental Advocates, sent me the Daily Star article: "Rosemont takes steps to get past ruling that blocks mine." That reminded me that we need to continue to stay on top of this issue.

Hudbay, the directors of the Rosemont Mine, are fighting to save their multi-million dollar project. And why wouldn't they? They don't have to pay any royalties to the people of Arizona and they can use as much of our water as they want. It's big profits for them.

What can we do?

1) Please, write a letter to the editor telling how the Rosemont mine will personally impact you, your business or your family. Be sure to follow the guidelines and word count limit of the target publication (up to 150 words for the Arizona Daily Star.)

2) This is a good time to urge our Members of Congress to overturn the 1872 Mining Law (that got us into this situation by defining hard-rock mineral extraction as the “highest and best” use of most public lands, tying the hands of federal and local governments when U.S. or foreign mining interests want to mine our public lands).

3) Ask your Members of Congress to codify the Waters of the US Rule into law (so any sitting president can't change it at will.)

The following blog has the information I presented to Rep. Kirkpatrick on that:
https://desktopactivisttucson.blogspot.com/2019/01/my-water-presentation-to-rep-ann.html


CONTACTING YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Find out who your Representative is: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Contact info for Reps here: https://www.house.gov/representatives

Contact info for Members of Congress here: https://contactingcongress.org/

More Information on the Rosemont mine:

http://www.rosemontminetruth.com/

I've done my best to post up-to-date information on my blog:
http://www.sustainablelivingtucson.com/2018/10/find-out-whats-up-with-proposed.html

Tell Congress: Support Place to Prosper Act for renters' rights

We are in the middle of a national housing crisis. A person working full time at a minimum-wage job cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment in 99% of counties nationwide, and nearly 6,300 people are evicted every day.1

Petition to Congress:   "Support Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's Place to Prosper Act." Add your name:

The good news is that there is momentum for big plans to tackle the housing crisis. Oregon passed a universal rent control law and California is poised to crack down on rent gouging. Cities like San Francisco also approved tough measures to keep rental prices under control. And numerous 2020 Democratic candidates offer bold and detailed housing plans – even while the slumlord in chief Donald Trump fuels rising rents and housing discrimination.2We are in the middle of a national housing crisis. A person working full time at a minimum-wage job cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment in 99% of counties nationwide, and nearly 6,300 people are evicted every day.1 Progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently unveiled a simple yet powerful housing plan as part of her "Just Society" package of bills.3 Rallying behind Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's plan will show that countless people support bold action to tackle the housing catastrophe in America. Stand with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez: Fight for renters' rights. Click here to sign the petition. Gentrification is ripping entire low-income communities of color to shreds and displacing families. The legacy of redlining and ongoing discrimination against communities of color, indigenous people and immigrants leaves millions of people paying too much for sub-par housing, with little protection from predatory and discriminatory landlords. Twenty million households pay an unaffordable amount of rent, and almost 50% of renters are behind on medical bills, utilities or rent. Worst of all, the number of homeless school children doubled between 2007 and 2016.4 The housing crisis is a major driver of the rising tide of inequality in America. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is trying to put bold action against poverty on the political map with a package of six bills called "The Just Society." Her housing plan, the Place to Prosper Act, would:5 Impose a national rent control cap of 3% or urban consumer inflation, whichever is greater – so that landlords can no longer wildly jack up rents to reward speculators and force families out. Protect tenants by prohibiting forms of discrimination (such as not accepting housing vouchers) and introducing a national right to counsel for those facing eviction. Penalize predatory landlords and place new disclosure requirements on corporate landlords. Create a national legal fund to provide low-income renters with access to legal services. Housing is a human right – but our economic system often renders it a special benefit of the privileged few so that speculators and investors can make gobs of cash. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's proposal is one of the simplest but boldest proposals out there, and we need to make sure it is the starting point for conversations about how to tackle the housing crisis. Stand with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez: Fight for renters' rights. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/aoc-renters-rights?t=9&akid=34604%2E3130208%2EfOTGW4 Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Amee Chew and Sarah Treuhaft, "Our Homes, Our Future: How Rent Control Can Build Stable, Healthy Communities," PolicyLink, the Center for Popular Democracy and the Right To The City Alliance, February 2019. Kriston Capps, "Would AOC's National Rent Control Solve the Housing Crisis, or Make It Even Worse?" City Lab, Sept. 26, 2019. Ibid. Chew and Treuhaft, "Our Homes, Our Future: How Rent Control Can Build Stable, Healthy Communities." Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, "The Place to Prosper Act," Sept. 23, 2019.

Tell media: Stop accepting fossil fuel advertisements

Petition to major media outlets: "Stop accepting advertisements in any form from fossil fuel companies and their allies." Add your name: Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC used to get almost 20% of its income from fossil fuel advertising. Then the newspaper chose to give it all up for the good of the planet.1 While Dagens ETC is choosing planet over profit, major American media outlets are making the opposite choice — far too many are sponsored by Big Oil and regularly run deceptive advertisements that appear to be news stories or independent op-eds. It's no surprise that these outlets rarely cover climate change news or actively promote dangerous climate deniers.2 When news programs fail to inform Americans about the existential threat of climate change, building the political will for bold action is nearly impossible. We need major media outlets to follow Dagens ETC's lead and reject fossil-fuel advertising, starting now. Tell major media outlets: Stop accepting fossil fuel advertisements. Click here to sign the petition. It's not just FOX News – almost every major media outlet helps Big Oil spread its propaganda. Chevron, BP and Koch Industries have sponsored POLITICO and Axios, two agenda-setting political outlets widely read on Capitol Hill. Many news companies, including POLITICO, The New York Times and The Washington Post, run "native ads" from fossil-fuel companies that look misleadingly similar to regular newspaper stories or editorial pieces. Viewers who tuned into the Democratic primary debates on cable and network TV saw countless fossil-fuel ads but rarely heard the candidates asked about climate change.3,4 Thanks to this terrible coverage, almost 90% of Americans don’t know that there is a scientific consensus on global warming.5 TV coverage of climate change plunged in 2018 from already-low levels in 2017, according to research by Media Matters. And a slight increase in coverage in 2019 is mostly because of rabid FOX News fear-mongering about the Green New Deal.6 Big Oil's public relations henchmen have bragged in the past about using paid advertising to influence coverage, and fossil-fuel companies' continued willingness to pour money into ads suggests it works.7 Young activists with the group Extinction Rebellion USA recently protested outside the New York Times and demanded that media companies stop accepting fossil-fuel advertising. As one of the strikers wrote, "We will never get the action we need to save our planet when most people still don’t know there is a crisis to begin with."8 It's long past time to ramp up the pressure on the media industry to stop putting fossil fuel profits ahead of the planet we all live on. Tell major media outlets: Stop accepting fossil fuel advertisements. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/media-fossil-fuel-advertising?t=9&akid=34592%2E3130208%2EfF52yd - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Sandra Laville, "Swedish newspaper stops taking adverts from fossil fuel firms," The Guardian, Sept. 26, 2019. Amy Westervelt, "Why Are ‘The New York Times’ and ‘The Washington Post’ Producing Ads for Big Oil?" The Nation, April 22, 2019. Ibid. Alexandria Villaseñor, "Why I’m Climate Striking Against Fox News on Friday," The Nation, June 26, 2019. Ruairí Arrieta-Kenna, "Almost 90% of Americans don’t know there’s scientific consensus on global warming," Vox, July 6, 2017. Lisa Hymas, "Climate silence was the big problem in 2018. In 2019, we've got new challenges." Media Matters, April 3, 2019. Westervelt, "Why Are ‘The New York Times’ and ‘The Washington Post’ Producing Ads for Big Oil?" Villaseñor, "Why I’m Climate Striking Against Fox News on Friday." More Information  Oil Companies Are Trying to Rebrand Themselves on Social Media - On Earth

Public Comment: Don’t Open The Tongass National Forest To Logging

The Tongass National Forest is a temperate rainforest that sequesters more carbon per acre than just about any other forest on the planet. But the Trump Administration wants to open over half of this important habitat to logging and new roads. That’s bad news for the climate, as cutting down all those trees will release their stored carbon and contribute to global heating.

The good news is that the public has a voice. Between now and December 17, the Forest Service is collecting public comments.

You can act on climate by submitting a comment either at the link below or by emailing akroadlessrule@fs.fed.us.

The most effective public comments are unique and personal, but be sure to include that you’re opposed to new roads in this pristine wilderness. 

Alaska Roadless Rulemaking #5451: comment on this project here:

https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public//CommentInput?Project=54511

Image credit: Gillfoto

Tell Nestlé to pay farmers a fair minimum price on cocoa

How far would you go for a cheap chocolate treat?

Would you deny cocoa farmers a living wage, leaving them with little choice but to pull their children out of school to work the fields so their family can survive?

Ask Nestlé and Pladis ... Along with French sugar and cocoa trader giant SucDen, the makers of KitKat bars, Godiva chocolates, and McVitie's biscuits won’t support a new policy that would lift millions of farmers out of extreme poverty.

All cocoa farmers worldwide deserve a fair shot and a living income. If this momentum fails, there probably won’t be another opportunity for decades to come. That’s why together, we need to act right now to name and shame the companies who’d rather hoard chocolate profits than ensure their workers are decently paid.

Tell Nestlé, Pladis, and SucDen to support a fair price for cocoa farmers in West Africa and around the world!

The governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast took the historic initiative to work together to raise the minimum cocoa price. If these West African nations that make up 63% of the globe’s cocoa supply succeed, other chocolate-producing countries will likely follow suit.

Farmers in Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ecuador and a few other countries in Latin America produce almost all of the world’s cocoa, but corporations like Nestlé and Pladis in the 100 billion dollar a year chocolate industry want to get away with paying them pennies for their efforts.

The result of that cost-cutting? When asked this year, Nestlé couldn’t guarantee the chocolate in its KitKat and Aero bars was produced without child labour. This has to end NOW.

Tell Nestlé, Pladis, and SucDen to pay farmers their fair share: Support a fair minimum price on cocoa - worldwide!

This new West African cocoa price -- about $2600 per tonne, more fair for farmers than even Rainforest Alliance -- is a huge step towards keeping chocolate companies’ greed in check and ensuring farmers won’t have to put their kids to work.

Other chocolate giants like Uncommon Cacao and Valhrona have already come out with some support for a better global floor price. Why won’t Nestlé, Pladis, and SucDen do the same?

Chocolate should be a sweet reward to brighten up our day, not a bitter blight on our conscience. As consumers, we have the right to demand better. It worked for us last year, when SumOfUs members like you helped get major chocolate companies to commit to progressive new anti-deforestation policies for cocoa. You helped defend forests from the chocolate industry’s greed. Now, it’s time to defend farmers, too — working for people and planet.

Tell Nestlé, Pladis, and SucDen to pay farmers their fair share: Support a fair minimum price on cocoa - worldwide!

More information

Industry doubts remain over Ivory Coast, Ghana cocoa floor price
Reuters. 3 July 2019.

Chocolate gold: Ivory Coast and Ghana set a fixed price for cocoa
Al Jazeera. 7 August 2019.

Companies Support Higher Cocoa Prices for Farmers

HUD Proposes New Rule That Would Gut the Fair Housing Act

FAIR HOUSING FOR ALL

In the aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act with broad, bipartisan support in an effort to curtail widespread segregation and discrimination in housing. It is one of the most critical pieces of legislation advancing racial and gender equality. Now, due to a new rule proposed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Fair Housing Act is at risk of losing critical protections.

At stake is the Disparate Impact protection, which says that banks, landlords, and other housing providers should choose policies that apply fairly to all people. The Disparate Impact rule allows us to recognize and prevent unjustified policies that may appear neutral in theory but disproportionately harm certain groups of people – and ensures that everyone can be treated fairly.

Losing critical housing protections is in the interest of no one but big corporations seeking to benefit from imposing discriminatory policies.

If HUD succeeds in eliminating this protection, we could see the following repercussions:

• A landlord could evict survivors of domestic violence for calling the police to seek protection from their abuser. This would place survivors of domestic violence and their children at risk of homelessness and further violence.
• A pregnant parent could be forced by their landlord to move out as soon as they give birth under overly restrictive "one person, one bedroom" occupancy requirements.
• Tenants with prior criminal records could be denied housing due to overly restrictive criminal record bans, which will overwhelmingly harm African American and Latinx men.
• A landlord could deny housing to anyone with a prior eviction record – regardless of whether the eviction was dismissed, filed on unlawful grounds, or occurred many years ago. These blanket bans disproportionately block access to safe and stable housing for low-income women of color, who face the greatest risk of eviction.
• A landlord could exclude applicants who don't hold full-time jobs, preventing people with disabilities or seniors from accessing housing even if they can afford it.

Corporate profits should not outweigh our national interest in promoting diversity or our values of equal opportunity.

HUD is accepting public comments on the proposed rule until October 18. That means we have just weeks to fight the rule and show the government that we, the people, demand they protect us – not corporations.

Click here to send the following message:

(Consider personalizing it for more impact.) 

To Secretary Ben Carson:

Withdraw the proposed rule gutting protections against housing discrimination. If implemented, the rule will jeopardize housing access for people of color, survivors of domestic violence, people with disabilities, and many more.

- American Civil Liberties Union

More Information:

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Propose New Rule Aimed At Weakening Ability to File Discrimination Claims - Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law - August 19, 2019

HUD's Implementation of the Fair Housing Act's Disparate Impact Standard

Tell Democrats: Stand with Puerto Rico against debt vultures

Petition to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates: "Return donations from employees of hedge funds invested in Puerto Rico's debt and commit to ending the Financial Oversight and Management Board's control over the economic life of the island" Add your name:

The vulture funds that are terrorizing the people of Puerto Rico already donated more than $231,000 to 2020 Democratic candidates. Even though the damage the firms are inflicting on Puerto Rico is clear, only Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have returned the firms' donations.1What hedge funds are doing to Puerto Rico is despicable. The Wall Street hedge funds, known as vulture funds, that own Puerto Rico's debts are forcing the island to close schools and cut budgets to line their own pockets. Their main tool is an unelected Financial Oversight Management Board, known as the junta, that is imposing brutal austerity on the island to serve the interest of Wall Street over the Puerto Rican people. Puerto Ricans fighting for their island's future are demanding an end to the junta and for 2020 Democrats to return vulture fund contributions.2  We need to stand in solidarity and echo their demands. Tell 2020 Democrats: Stand with Puerto Rico. Click here to sign the petition. Four hundred public schools have been closed. Local government budgets were slashed by $150 million so far, and another $220 million in cuts are planned. The University of Puerto Rico's budget was cut in half. Those massive cuts are going to the vulture funds that buy up debt for pennies on the dollar and demand repayment in full. These Wall Street vulture funds are costing lives and creating suffering to line their own pockets.3 The heroes of the resistance in Puerto Rico are the people who are rising up against this despicable state of affairs, including by ousting corrupt Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. Top recipients of vulture fund cash include Michael Bennet ($49,800), Beto O'Rourke ($28,750), John Delaney ($26,300), Joe Biden ($25,350) and Pete Buttigieg ($21,350). Sens. Kamala Harris ($15,500), who co-sponsored a Warren-Sanders bill to cancel Puerto Rico's debts, and Cory Booker ($23,300), who signed a letter demanding the end of the junta, have also not yet returned donations. Sanders and Warren joined other progressive champions in the House of Representatives and Senate in a letter demanding an end to the junta's control over Puerto Rico.4,5 Our friends at the Center for Popular Democracy, Make the Road Action, Vamos4PR Action, New York Communities for Change, Hedge Clippers, Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora and many more are demanding that 2020 Democrats return dirty money from Puerto Rico vulture funds. As their letter to the candidates puts it so clearly: “You can either stand with the people of Puerto Rico or with the hedge funds that have harmed Puerto Rico. You can’t do both.”6 Tell 2020 Democrats: Stand with Puerto Rico. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/puerto-rico-vulture-2020?t=9&akid=34416%2E3130208%2EdrFN6z Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: David Dayen, "Hedge Fund Cash Flows to Presidential Candidates—at Puerto Rico’s Expense," The American Prospect, Aug. 22, 2019. Kate Aronoff and Alleen Brown, "Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez call for reversal of Puerto Rico austerity measures," The Intercept, Sep. 24, 2019. Dayen, "Hedge Fund Cash Flows to Presidential Candidates—at Puerto Rico’s Expense." Aronoff and Brown, "Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez call for reversal of Puerto Rico austerity measures." Dayen, "Hedge Fund Cash Flows to Presidential Candidates—at Puerto Rico’s Expense." Ibid.

Stop Betsy DeVos from sabotaging investigations

Petition to Congress: "Pass the Protecting Student Aid Act of 2019." Add your name:

In 2015, Corinthian Colleges collapsed and left deceived students stuck with debt but no degrees. In the wake of the scandal, the Obama administration created a new team within the Department of Education – the Student Aid Enforcement Unit – to police the billions in grants and loans administered each year. By the time Obama left office, the unit had a dozen attorneys and investigators working around the clock.1,2 Then Betsy DeVos happened. DeVos spent the last three years sabotaging the investigations unit to make sure scam artists and predatory for-profit schools get a free pass.3 Now, progressives in the House of Representatives have a plan to undo DeVos's damage and protect students, and they need our help. Stand with House progressives: Stop Betsy DeVos from sabotaging investigations. Click here to sign the petition. One of the main targets of the investigative team was . In 2016, DeVry settled with the Department of Education and the Federal Trade Commission and agreed to pay $100 million in damages to the students it defrauded and deceived. When DeVos arrived on the scene, the investigations office was looking into a number of for-profit giants, including DeVry, for deceptive practices, claims about graduates getting jobs and misleading advertising.4 DeVos quickly sabotaged the investigations by reassigning and marginalizing staff, and instructing them to narrow their focus. Today, only three investigators remain, processing applications and engaging in small compliance inquiries. Worst of all, DeVos actually hired the former DeVry dean Julian Schmoke, to oversee the new, toothless investigation team.5 House progressives are fighting back. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib and Donna Shalala teamed up on the Protecting Student Aid Act of 2019, which would make the Student Aid Enforcement Unit official and give it the congressional mandate – along with staff and funding – it needs to do this necessary work.6 Students are nothing but dollar signs to Betsy DeVos and her for-profit college pals. We need tough action to confront her seemingly corrupt appeasement of the most predatory industries within higher education – and that means pointing out that progressives are leading the way. Stand with House progressives: Stop Betsy DeVos from sabotaging investigations. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/protecting-student-aid-devos?t=9&akid=34330%2E3130208%2E_Damcq Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, "Murray, Senators Denounce Move By Secretary DeVos to End Investigations and Office Responsible for Protecting Students from Predatory Colleges," May 24, 2018. Danielle Ivory, Erica L. Green and Steve Eder, "Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at For-Profits," The New York Times, May 13, 2018. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, "Reps. Pressley, Shalala, and Tlaib introduce the Protecting Student Aid Act of 2019," Sep. 20, 2019.

Tell Congress: Stop plan to privatize morgage companies while eliminating affordable housing requirements

Petition to Congress: "Reject Donald Trump's proposed changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Keep the two companies in government conservatorship with profits flowing to the Department of the Treasury." Add your name:

President Trump just proposed a new plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage giants that the federal government took over during the financial crisis. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac keep the mortgage market humming by buying mortgages from originators and bundling them together as securities, and they have a mandate to help low-income borrowers.1 But now Trump wants to privatize the companies and eliminate any affordable housing requirements in the process. It's a move experts warn will hurt low-income buyers, communities of color and rural Americans.2 Congress will have to approve any changes, so we have a chance to fight back. Tell Congress: Reject Trump's horrible mortgage plan. Click here to sign the petition. Wall Street hedge funds are behind this gambit. For the last 10 years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac functioned just as they did right after Fannie's creation in the New Deal. Under federal government "conservatorship," they were government-controlled enterprises that used their low interest rates to make homes affordable, especially for low-income buyers. Once the companies recovered from the financial crash, the Obama administration decided to sweep their profits into the federal treasury, helping to fund other important programs.3,4 But then, a handful of hedge funds bought a stake in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for pennies on the dollar. The same funds backed Trump big time in 2016, and sued in federal court to stop the company profits from going to the federal government. They want Trump to privatize the company, handing the now-lucrative business over to them with no constraints. Trump's plan would eliminate affordable housing goals and leave the hedge funds looking for only the most lucrative borrowers to lend to.5,6 It gets worse. Conservatives long dreamed of completely eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and leaving mortgages fully in the hands of Wall Street. But Trump's plan would guarantee that the two companies would receive a federal bailout if Wall Street banks crash the economy again. Trump wants to make sure his hedge fund pals get all the profits and leave the rest of us with all the risk.7,8 Any change to Fannie and Freddie's status must go through Congress. We need to push to keep a system that's working – and reject Trump's horrible plan to hurt low-income Americans while helping Wall Street. Tell Congress: Reject Trump's horrible mortgage plan. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/trump-mortgage-gses?t=9&akid=34351%2E3130208%2EImyZG9 - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Matthew Yglesias, "The Trump administration’s new plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, explained," Vox, Sept. 9, 2019. Bess Levin, "Trump wants to make mortgages more expensive for minorities," Vanity Fair, Sept. 10, 2019. Ibid. Yglesias, "The Trump administration’s new plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, explained." Ibid. Levin, "Trump wants to make mortgages more expensive for minorities." Ibid. Yglesias, "The Trump administration’s new plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, explained."

Tell Albertsons: Get toxic "forever chemicals" out of our food

The petition to Albertsons reads: "Stop poisoning customers with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in your food. Remove PFAS chemicals from your food packaging immediately." Add your name:

We expect the food we buy from a local grocery store that we eat or serve to our families to be safe. But new laboratory testing of food packaging from Albertsons - the second-largest grocery store chain in the country whose stores include Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s/Star Market, Randalls and Tom Thumb - indicated the presence of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in many of its store-branded products, including some organic brands.1We expect the food we buy from a local grocery store that we eat or serve to our families to be safe. These toxic fluorinated chemicals, called PFAS or "forever chemicals" because they don't degrade in the environment and take a very long time to leave the body, are linked to cancer and harm to the reproductive and immune systems. We must speak out now and demand that Albertson's remove these chemicals from their shelves immediately. Tell Albertsons: Get toxic "forever chemicals" out of your food. Click here to sign the petition. In addition to food packaging, PFAS chemicals are found in drinking water across the United States and in common household items, like non-stick pans, stain-resistant carpets and waterproof clothing. PFAS exposure is linked to a whole host of diseases including "immune system toxicity, elevated cholesterol, delayed mammary gland development, effects on the thyroid and liver, and cancer."2 Food companies use PFAS in packaging for its water- and grease-resistant properties, but the chemical leaches into the food we eat and becomes a persistent threat in the environment. The testing conducted by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and Toxic-Free Future found that the packaging of many store brands on the shelves of Albertsons-owned grocery stores indicated the presence of PFAS chemicals, including dental floss, bakery cakes and packaging for conventional and organic popcorn.3 Activism to ban PFAS from food packaging is working. One of Albertsons' top competitors, Ahold Delhaize, the owner of Food Lion, Giant, Stop & Shop and others, recently announced that it's banning PFAS from its store-brand food packaging.4 And after public pressure by allies and food safety experts, Albertsons replaced some packaging items, although many still remain on store shelves. While this is a step in the right direction, it's simply not enough to replace only a few items. Albertsons must remove all PFAS chemicals from its stores now. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/albertsons-pfas?t=9&akid=34325%2E3130208%2EZktKEM Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Mike Schade and Erika Schreder, "Toxic food packaging at the grocery store?" Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, May 13, 2019. Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, "The Risks of PFAS," accessed Oct. 2, 2019. Toxic-Free Future, "Study: PFAS in Food Packaging," accessed Oct. 2, 2019. Lorraine Mirabella, "Giant Food and other Ahold Delhaize stores restrict use of toxic chemicals in packaging," The Baltimore Sun, Sept. 20, 2019. MORE INFORMATION  Letter to Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran from Safe Chemicals