Tell Congress: Pass the Climate Risk Disclosure Act

The petition to Congress reads: "Pass the Climate Risk Disclosure Act." Add your name:

Climate change is one of the biggest economic threats the world will ever face. Yet under our financial system, companies are incentivized to ignore it completely. The longer they wait to face reality, the greater the chances that all of us will face what Sen. Elizabeth Warren has called “a global catastrophe that will put the 2008 crisis to shame.”1 That's why Sen. Warren recently introduced the Climate Risk Disclosure Act. The bill would require companies to evaluate and report their climate risks, which would inform responsible investors and deter them from putting money into companies that don't manage them responsibly. Tell Congress: Pass the Climate Risk Disclosure Act. Click here to sign the petition. Our financial system incentivizes behavior that will lead to catastrophic climate change. Not only does the United States subsidize fossil fuel production, but it allows companies to ignore the harm they are causing to the climate and hide the ways that climate change could disrupt their business from investors. The Climate Risk Disclosure Act would help change that. The bill would require every public company to disclose greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel assets, plans for managing climate risks and an analysis of how the company's value would be affected by climate change and climate policies.2 It would force companies to be transparent about their environmental impact and give investors the information they need to make responsible decisions about whether they want to invest in companies that are fueling climate change. Under the bill, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) would set requirements for each business sector and enforce penalties on companies that don't comply. Although the SEC already passed a rule in 2010 that requires companies to include climate risks in their annual filings, the agency has not enforced it and companies have largely ignored the rule.3 We need Congress to take action. Passing progressive environmental legislation like this today will be tough, but we don't have much time to lose. if we start building support for the Climate Risk Disclosure Act in Congress now, we can help make it a reality once progressives are in power. To do that, we need to let our representatives know that we demand that companies be held accountable for the climate risks they are imposing on us all. Along with Sen. Warren, the bill is already co-sponsored by Sens. Brian Schatz, Ed Markey, Sheldon Whitehouse, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand and Jeff Merkley.4 Tell Congress: Pass the Climate Risk Disclosure Act. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/climate-disclosure-act?t=7&akid=30219%2E3130208%2ECxTYUe - Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, "Warren, Colleagues Unveil Bill to Require Every Public Company to Disclose Climate-Related Risks," Sept. 17, 2018. Ibid. Karen Savage, "New Bill Would Require the SEC to Police Companies’ Climate Risks," Climate Liability News, Sept. 20, 2018. Timothy Cama, "Warren wants companies to disclose more about climate change impacts," The Hill, Sept. 14, 2018.

Tell Congress: Pass the Marijuana Justice Act

The petition to Congress reads: "End the war on drugs. Pass the Marijuana Justice Act." Add your name:

With five percent of the world's population, but a quarter of its prisoners, the United States is at a crisis point. Our criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform and it's up to us to fix it. Nearly half of the country's federal inmates are poor people of color in prison on drug related convictions.1 Democrats Sen. Cory Booker and Reps. Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna have introduced legislation that would set many of these prisoners free. The Marijuana Justice Act would put an end to the racist War on Drugs by legalizing cannabis nationwide and expunging all federal convictions for possessing or using it.2 Progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders just added his support for this bill.3Speak out now to urge every Democrat and Republican of good conscience to follow his lead. Tell Congress: End the war on drugs. Pass the Marijuana Justice Act. Click here to sign the petition. Public support for legalizing marijuana is at an all-time high. Two-thirds of Americans are in favor of ending prohibition. The Marijuana Justice Act is the most far-reaching marijuana reform bill that has ever been introduced in Congress. It would:4 Legalize cannabis nationwide. Expunge all federal convictions for possessing or using cannabis. Fund libraries and job training programs in communities torn apart by the racist War on Drugs. Cut federal funds for prison construction in states where marijuana arrests have disproportionately affected people of color and poor people. Nine states and Washington D.C. have already legalized cannabis use for adults and have allocated marijuana revenues for social good.5 In Colorado, Oregon and Nevada, cannabis revenue funds public schools and bullying prevention programs. Oregon, Washington and Alaska are funding alcohol and drug treatment programs and basic health care. California and Massachusetts will use their revenues to revitalize low-income communities of color torn apart by high drug arrests and incarcerations. If cannabis becomes legal nationwide, local government won't be the only ones benefiting. The Marijuana Justice Act legalizes cannabis and also goes one step further by radically reforming our criminal justice system. A 2013 ACLU study found that police were four times more likely to arrest and imprison Black people for marijuana possession than white people, despite similar rates of use.6 The majority of people currently serving time in prison for cannabis related convictions are Black and Brown. This important bill would give many of these prisoners their freedom and prevent millions of people from ever entering the country's broken criminal justice system. Tell Congress: End the war on drugs. Pass the Marijuana Justice Act. Click here to sign the petition. Former Speaker of the House John Boehner, who fought marijuana legalization for years, recently changed his position and announced that he had joined the board of directors of a major marijuana corporation.7 He is just the latest in a long line of wealthy white conservatives who now see legal cannabis as big business and want to profit from it. The Marijuana Justice Act will make sure that legalizing cannabis helps right the wrongs of the failed War on Drugs, not just line the pockets of corporate shills like Boehner. Reforming our criminal justice system and passing legislation to end the War on Drugs won’t happen overnight, and certainly not in this Congress. But building momentum can start now and make a big difference. Will you add your name? Tell Congress: End the war on drugs. Pass the Marijuana Justice Act. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/marijuana_justice?t=8&akid=28201%2E3130208%2EWNyPZD - Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Federal Bureau of Prisons, "Inmate Statistics: Offenses," March 24, 2018. Jordain Carney, "Booker introduces bill to legalize marijuana," The Hill, Aug. 1, 2017. Benjamin Fearnow, "Bernie Sanders joins Cory Booker's Marijuana Justice Act to federally legalize weed," Newsweek, April 19, 2018. Carney, "Booker introduces bill to legalize marijuana. Drug Policy Institute, "From Prohibition to Progress: A Status Report on Marijuana Legalization," Jan. 22, 2018. Dylan Matthews, "The black/white marijuana arrest gap, in nine charts," The Washington Post, June 4, 2013. Daniel Victor, "John Boehner’s Marijuana Reversal: 'My Thinking on Cannabis Has Evolved,'" The New York Times, April 11, 2018.

TAKE ACTION PROTECT WORKERS AND CHILDREN FROM PESTICIDES

The farmworkers who help bring fresh fruit and produce to our tables and the people who apply pesticides in our homes and communities aren’t protected by the same safety standards that most workers in the U.S. enjoy. Farmworkers and pesticide applicators face repeated exposure to a range of toxic chemicals.

So when the Environmental Protection Agency announced an updated set of basic life-saving rules in 2015 and 2017, dozens of farmworker, labor, public health and environmental organizations rejoiced. But now the Trump administration has announced plans to reverse these crucial protections against pesticide exposure and poisonings.

From setting a minimum age of 18 for workers who mix, load and apply pesticides; to improving the content and quality of worker safety trainings; to providing farmworkers with anti-retaliation protections and the right to request pesticide-application information, these basic safety standards were put in place to protect the 2.5 million farmworkers in the U.S. who experience 10,000-20,000 reported pesticide poisonings per year, and approximately one million pesticide applicators.

Don’t let the Trump administration put farmworkers, pesticide handlers, their families and the broader public at risk. Tell your senators to stop this attack on the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard and the Certification of Pesticide Applicators Rule.

- Earth Justice

Add your name here to leave the following comment.  Please, personalize it for more impact. 

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to weaken rules that would prevent children from applying toxic pesticides and protect all of us from dangerous chemicals found in agricultural, commercial and residential settings.  By tampering with the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard and its sister set of safety standards, the Certification of Pesticide Applicators Rule, Pruitt is putting farmworkers, pesticide handlers, their families and the entire public at risk.

 

Pesticides are applied on our food and in, on or around our homes, schools, hospitals and workplaces. If the people who handle pesticides aren't adequately trained or don't understand the dangers of the chemicals they're handling, the health and safety of workers, communities and all consumers can be at risk. Pesticide misuse has led to worker poisonings and serious harm for hundreds of homeowners and their families, and resulted in the tragic deaths of children. 

With the lives of children and families across the country at stake, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), along with senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), are leading an effort to urge the EPA to preserve these protections by keeping the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard rule and Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule in place.  

As your constituent, I urge you to join them in signing the “Dear Colleague” letter opposing the EPA's attacks on the child and worker protection rules.

Democrats failed to hold the line for Dreamers!

Last night, both the House and Senate passed a “continuing resolution” (CR) to keep the government open for another two weeks. The House passed the CR 235-193, with 18 Republicans voting no and 14 Democrats voting yes. Just two hours later, the Senate passed their CR 81-14.

Let’s be clear: in practical terms this was a vote to deport Dreamers. Democrats didn't use their leverage to push for a clean dream act before the deadline.

In the next two weeks, 1,708 Dreamers will lose their protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era executive action that allowed them to apply for work permits and live without fear of deportation.

Democrats had real leverage in this fight, but just eight -- Kamala Harris (CA), Mazie Hirono (HI), Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren (MA), Cory Booker (NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Jeff Merkley (OR), and Bernie Sanders (VT) -- held their ground, stood up for Dreamers, and voted no.

Here’s what we need you to do:

• Check the vote tally to find out how your Senator voted.
• Read our call scripts on dreamerpledge.org.
• Call 1-855-980-2355 and you’ll be connected with one of your Senators. Use our script to inform your conversation with the Senators’ staff. Call back again and you’ll be connected to your other Senator.

Get loud. Stay mad. Do what you can to keep the pressure up for the next two weeks. #dreamers, #DACA

- The Indivisible Team

Time to legalize marijuana in the U.S. Support the Marijuana Justice Act of 2017

For decades, the failed War on Drugs has locked up millions of nonviolent drug offenders, especially for marijuana-related offenses. This has wasted human potential, torn apart families and communities, and squandered massive sums of taxpayer dollars.

Currently, over half of all drug arrests in the United States are due to marijuana—the majority for simple possession. Police now arrest more Americans for simple possession of marijuana than for all violent crimes—murder, sexual assault, and armed robbery—combined.

It’s time the federal government follow the lead of many of our states and our nation’s capital, and begin to take meaningful steps to reverse mass incarceration and address the gross injustices of the failed War on Drugs. It’s time to legalize marijuana in the United States of America.

That’s why I’ve introduced the Marijuana Justice Act of 2017, a bill that if passed will legalize marijuana at the federal level, and incentivize states to legalize it at the state level. The bill would also retroactively apply to those serving time in federal prison for marijuana-related offenses, providing for a judge’s review of their marijuana sentence.

Our federal marijuana laws have not made our country safer—in fact, by enforcing our existing marijuana laws on predominantly low-level, nonviolent offenders, police are forced to take away precious resources from fighting violent crime in our communities.

Marijuana-related offenses are also not enforced equally across race and class. It’s a disturbing fact that while blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates, African Americans are almost 4 times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana.

The War on Drugs has failed all Americans, and has had a disproportionately devastating impact on Americans of color and the poor. Legalizing marijuana across our country is the right thing to do for public safety, and will reduce our overflowing prison population.

If you agree that our marijuana laws have been ineffective and that we can make our criminal justice system more just by legalizing marijuana, please join me in supporting the Marijuana Justice Act of 2017.

- Cory Booker