Public Policy & NGOs
Here's a look at documents from public policy and non-governmental organizations
Featured Stories
VoteVets: Iraq War General - Trump's Ground Troops Threat in Iran Signals Another Forever War for Regime Change
PORTLAND, Oregon, March 4 -- VoteVets issued the following news release on March 2, 2026:
* * *
Iraq War General: Trump's Ground Troops Threat in Iran Signals Another Forever War for Regime Change
Major General (Ret.) Paul D. Eaton, an Army commander in Operation Iraqi Freedom, released the following statement after both Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump signaled that United States ground troops may be used to invade Iran:
"The notion from Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth this morning that we may engage in ground operations in Iran, with ground troops, is the clearest signal yet that the purpose of
... Show Full Article
PORTLAND, Oregon, March 4 -- VoteVets issued the following news release on March 2, 2026:
* * *
Iraq War General: Trump's Ground Troops Threat in Iran Signals Another Forever War for Regime Change
Major General (Ret.) Paul D. Eaton, an Army commander in Operation Iraqi Freedom, released the following statement after both Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump signaled that United States ground troops may be used to invade Iran:
"The notion from Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth this morning that we may engage in ground operations in Iran, with ground troops, is the clearest signal yet that the purpose ofthis war is regime change. They naively hoped air forces alone would cause the regime to collapse, but they are not getting their intended effect. The regime still stands, and protests have been largely limited. Air power can achieve the other stated goals of destroying Iran's capability to project force. What Air Power cannot do is force regime change.
"I was in Iraq. We all witnessed thousands of brave young Americans die in a ground war for regime change, and countless more Iraqi deaths. And this does not include the forever maimed. I can tell you what happens if we do that in Iran. There will be an insurgency. Our troops will be much easier targets for extremists. Many will be killed in action or wounded. It will become more and more difficult to get out. If you think Iraq was bad, Iraq 2.0 in Iran will be so much worse. And consider this: the Trump administration has dismantled our aid organizations and capacity to assist the citizens of Iran to influence a better future, while Hegseth disparages that very notion and insults our allies and potential allies.
"The Republican Congress is absent from all of this. Even though the Constitution demands they hold a vote, too many Republicans are too scared to do so. Their cowardice stands in stark contrast to the brave servicemembers who will pay the cost of their inaction."
* * *
Original text here: https://votevets.org/press-releases/iraq-war-general-trumps-ground-troops-threat-in-iran-signals-another-forever-war-for-regime-change
[Category: Political]
VoteVets Sets Red Line for Republicans and Democrats on War Powers Vote
PORTLAND, Oregon, March 4 -- VoteVets issued the following news release on March 3, 2026:
* * *
VoteVets Sets Red Line for Republicans and Democrats on War Powers Vote
On behalf of the nearly 2 million veterans, military families, and their civilian supporters of VoteVets, the group issued this open statement to senators and members of Congress of both parties today on the upcoming votes on bipartisan war powers resolutions on the Iran War.
"With casualties mounting in the Iran war, goals and rationale that keep changing by the second depending on which administration source you talk to, and
... Show Full Article
PORTLAND, Oregon, March 4 -- VoteVets issued the following news release on March 3, 2026:
* * *
VoteVets Sets Red Line for Republicans and Democrats on War Powers Vote
On behalf of the nearly 2 million veterans, military families, and their civilian supporters of VoteVets, the group issued this open statement to senators and members of Congress of both parties today on the upcoming votes on bipartisan war powers resolutions on the Iran War.
"With casualties mounting in the Iran war, goals and rationale that keep changing by the second depending on which administration source you talk to, andthe threat of ground troops going in to a protracted war of regime change, we are far past the time for Congress to require the president to seek authorization from Congress, or have this war end.
"Twenty years ago, we founded this organization to ensure that the voices of American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines were heard in the halls of power. For two decades, we have organized, fought, and built power for this exact moment. We did not spend twenty years building political power to watch members of Congress duck their constitutional responsibilities when lives are on the line.
"We expect all Members, of both parties, to stand up and do their constitutional duty by supporting the bipartisan resolutions from Senators Kaine and Paul, and Representatives Khanna and Massie. VoteVets will hold Republicans and Democrats accountable who do not."
* * *
Original text here: https://votevets.org/press-releases/votevets-sets-red-line-for-republicans-and-democrats-on-war-powers-vote
[Category: Political]
VFW Appalled Major Richard Star Act Vote Blocked for Second Time
KANSAS CITY, Missouri, March 4 -- The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., a veterans service organization, issued the following statement on March. 3, 2026:
* * *
VFW Appalled Major Richard Star Act Vote Blocked for Second Time
The following is a message from VFW National Commander Carol Whitmore
*
Today, Ranking Member Blumenthal asked for unanimous consent for passage of S. 1032, the Major Richard Star Act, on the floor of the U.S. Senate. This is the first time the motion was made since it failed to pass in October, held up then by Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. I regret to announce
... Show Full Article
KANSAS CITY, Missouri, March 4 -- The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., a veterans service organization, issued the following statement on March. 3, 2026:
* * *
VFW Appalled Major Richard Star Act Vote Blocked for Second Time
The following is a message from VFW National Commander Carol Whitmore
*
Today, Ranking Member Blumenthal asked for unanimous consent for passage of S. 1032, the Major Richard Star Act, on the floor of the U.S. Senate. This is the first time the motion was made since it failed to pass in October, held up then by Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. I regret to announcethat it was turned down again, this time by Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. I am appalled by the resistance by certain members of Congress to care for veterans who have sacrificed so much for this nation.
Pass the Major Richard Star ActAs I testified earlier today before a special joint hearing of the United States Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs, the Major Richard Star Act will fix the unjust offset affecting more than 50,000 medically retired combat veterans. This is not double-dipping. This is double sacrifice. Veterans have fulfilled their obligation. Now, the country must Honor the Contract. Not partially, not eventually, not someday, but today, fully and faithfully. Stop the procedural games, have a real hearing, and get this done. Pass the Major Richard Star Act now!
* * *
Original text here: https://www.vfw.org/media-and-events/latest-releases/archives/2026/3/vfw-appalled-major-richard-star-act-vote-blocked-for-second-time
[Category: National Defense]
National Taxpayers Union Welcomes Callie Shinkle
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, March 4 -- The National Taxpayers Union issued the following news release on March 3, 2026:
* * *
National Taxpayers Union Welcomes Callie Shinkle
National Taxpayers Union (NTU) President Pete Sepp on Tuesday announced Callie Shinkle has joined the organization as Partnerships Manager. In this role, Shinkle will cultivate deeper relationships with NTU and National Taxpayers Union Foundation's (NTUF) current and prospective supporters.
"We are delighted to welcome Callie to our team," NTU President Pete Sepp said. "Her experience will be essential to ensuring that more
... Show Full Article
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, March 4 -- The National Taxpayers Union issued the following news release on March 3, 2026:
* * *
National Taxpayers Union Welcomes Callie Shinkle
National Taxpayers Union (NTU) President Pete Sepp on Tuesday announced Callie Shinkle has joined the organization as Partnerships Manager. In this role, Shinkle will cultivate deeper relationships with NTU and National Taxpayers Union Foundation's (NTUF) current and prospective supporters.
"We are delighted to welcome Callie to our team," NTU President Pete Sepp said. "Her experience will be essential to ensuring that moreAmericans learn of our successes so that NTU and NTUF continue to grow their impact in the years ahead."
Shinkle was previously the Lead Development Officer at the Thomistic Institute where she managed a portfolio of major donors and directed both foundation relations and high-impact direct mail campaigns. She has also worked at Parents Defending Education, Memoria Press, and the Pan-American Games.
Shinkle earned a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Religion from Hillsdale College.
"I'm very excited to join NTU and NTUF," Shinkle said. "I am looking forward to expanding our partnerships and our resources so we can do even more to protect taxpayers and make government work better."
National Taxpayers Union is the only free-market organization for taxpayers that unites effective advocacy with useful research about how to limit taxes, spending, and regulation at every level and branch of government--state, federal, administrative, and judicial.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.ntu.org/publications/detail/national-taxpayers-union-welcomes-callie-shinkle
[Category: Political]
House Ag Committee Must Block Industry Wish List Farm Bill
WASHINGTON, March 4 [Category: Science] -- The Food and Water Watch posted the following news release on Feb. 3, 2026:
* * *
House Ag Committee Must Block Industry Wish List Farm Bill
"We need farm policy that delivers for farmers and consumers -- not Big Ag corporations"
*
Today, the House Agriculture Committee will mark up its draft Farm Bill. Not only does this draft fail to meet the urgent needs of farmers, consumers and the environment, but it also contains several unpopular industry-backed provisions. The bill:
* Doubles down on devastating cuts to federal food assistance by not restoring
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, March 4 [Category: Science] -- The Food and Water Watch posted the following news release on Feb. 3, 2026:
* * *
House Ag Committee Must Block Industry Wish List Farm Bill
"We need farm policy that delivers for farmers and consumers -- not Big Ag corporations"
*
Today, the House Agriculture Committee will mark up its draft Farm Bill. Not only does this draft fail to meet the urgent needs of farmers, consumers and the environment, but it also contains several unpopular industry-backed provisions. The bill:
* Doubles down on devastating cuts to federal food assistance by not restoringHR 1 cuts to the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
* Increases funding for dirty factory farm gas projects through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), despite documented project failures and loan defaults.
* Prioritizes Big Ag over people by including The EATS Act, re-introduced this session as the Save Our Bacon Act, which would strip state and local governments of their ability to pass agricultural policies within their own borders, overturning hundreds of state laws.
* Protects pesticide companies over cancer patients by including The Cancer Gag Act, which would shield pesticide corporations from health-related lawsuits. Roundup producer Bayer has spent over $11 billion settling more than 100,000 cancer lawsuits related to the pesticide's key ingredient, glyphosate, which the World Health Organization defines as a probable carcinogen; last week, Bayer proposed an over $7 billion settlement for the tens of thousands of pending cancer lawsuits.
Food & Water Watch Senior Food Policy Analyst Rebecca Wolf issued the following statement:
"This Farm Bill proposal is nothing more than an industry wish list. It is a spit in the face for farmers, crushed by Trump's tariff tantrum; for rural communities, sickened by agricultural chemicals; and for the millions going hungry without SNAP.
"After years of delay, House Republicans should be ashamed that this is all they can bring to the table. We need farm policy that delivers for farmers and consumers -- not Big Ag corporations. A fair Farm Bill wouldn't include the cruel Cancer Gag Act nor the dangerous EATS Act. Congress must reject this farcical proposal. Instead, we need a Farm Bill that restores SNAP funding; stops funneling tax dollars to concentrated Big Ag corporations; and supports the transition to healthy, affordable food."
* * *
Original text here: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2026/03/03/house-ag-committee-must-block-industry-wish-list-farm-bill/
Earthjustice: Kapalua Golf Course Not Authorized to Irrigate With Drinking Water
SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 4 -- Earthjustice issued the following news release on March 3, 2026:
* * *
Kapalua Golf Course Not Authorized to Irrigate With Drinking Water
Victory - Water commission chair corrects record, confirms by letter that use of potable groundwater for turf grass irrigation has not been recognized as an existing use
*
Honolulu, HI -- Yesterday, the state water commission's acting chair Ryan Kanaka'ole issued a letter confirming that the Kapalua Bay and Plantation Golf Courses are not authorized to irrigate their turf grass with drinking water. In his letter sent
... Show Full Article
SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 4 -- Earthjustice issued the following news release on March 3, 2026:
* * *
Kapalua Golf Course Not Authorized to Irrigate With Drinking Water
Victory - Water commission chair corrects record, confirms by letter that use of potable groundwater for turf grass irrigation has not been recognized as an existing use
*
Honolulu, HI -- Yesterday, the state water commission's acting chair Ryan Kanaka'ole issued a letter confirming that the Kapalua Bay and Plantation Golf Courses are not authorized to irrigate their turf grass with drinking water. In his letter sentto the golf course owner, TY Management Corporation, and its water providers, Hawai'i Water Service and Maui Land & Pineapple, Inc., Chair Kanaka'ole clarified that, under Hawai'i law, the burden of establishing a water use within a management area "rests with those who seek to benefit from it."
As Earthjustice explained in its November 17, 2025, letter to the commission, TY has not met its burden of showing it had an "existing use" of groundwater when the commission designated West Maui as a water management area in 2002. Under the law, an existing use may be allowed to continue while the commission processes water use permit applications. But without an existing use, TY must file an application for a new use of groundwater and join everyone else requesting a water use permit.
"For too long, our calls for action from this commission have fallen on deaf ears. Chair Kanaka'ole's letter showed us that finally someone is listening to the community. Setting this golf course issue straight is an important first step toward the commission fulfilling its constitutional duty as kahuwai pono. Now it's time for them to act on our permits," said Karyn Kanekoa of Hui Na Mamo Aloha 'Aina o Honokohau.
Kanaka'ole's letter comes the following week after the commission's February 24, 2026, meeting, during which West Maui community members insisted that, before moving forward to process permit applications, the commission must first rescind former chair Dawn Chang's prior correspondence purporting to recognize TY's groundwater use. After a question was raised whether the action of rescinding the correspondence was included in the meeting notice, the commission suspended the public meeting to confer privately. It then voted to move forward with processing permits but did not address what to do about Chang's correspondence.
"With the rest of West Maui living under water restrictions, the former chair threw public trust priorities out the window. She let a golf course, without a valid application, cut in line in front of everyone else, take drinking water for its grass, and take up all the commission's attention," said Dru Hara, an attorney with Earthjustice's Mid-Pacific Office. "By correcting this misstep and putting the law and the kamaaina community first, Chair Kanaka'ole has set the commission back on track toward pono stewardship of Maui's water resources."
The commission designated West Maui surface and groundwater resources for regulation in 2022, and the one-year deadline to submit permit applications to continue an "existing use" at the time of designation was August 7, 2023. Since then, applicants have waited nearly three years for the commission to start processing and issuing permits. But neither TY, nor the companies supplying the water, included any groundwater use on the Kapalua courses in their permit applications, so by law any claim for an existing use of groundwater was abandoned. As Kanaka'ole's letter explains, should TY wish to resume watering its golf turf with drinking water, it must first submit a proper request to the commission.
* * *
Additional Resources
* About the Mid-Pacific Office (https://earthjustice.org/office/mid-pacific)
* * *
About Earthjustice
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.
* * *
INFODOC: https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/26-0302-ltr-to-hws-mlp-ty-fr-acting-chair-part-1-signed.pdf
* * *
Original text here: https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/kapalua-golf-course-not-authorized-to-irrigate-with-drinking-water
[Category: Environment]
CODEPINK Joins International Humanitarian Convoy to Break U.S. Siege on Cuba
LOS ANGELES, California, March 4 -- CodePink, a grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S.-funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globally, posted the following news release on March 3, 2026:
* * *
CODEPINK Joins International Humanitarian Convoy to Break U.S. Siege on Cuba
As Cuba faces deepening blackouts, fuel paralysis, and life-threatening shortages of food and medicine, an international coalition of humanitarian organizations will arrive in Havana on March 21 to deliver urgently needed supplies -- and to challenge the brutal U.S. policies that are strangling
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, March 4 -- CodePink, a grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S.-funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globally, posted the following news release on March 3, 2026:
* * *
CODEPINK Joins International Humanitarian Convoy to Break U.S. Siege on Cuba
As Cuba faces deepening blackouts, fuel paralysis, and life-threatening shortages of food and medicine, an international coalition of humanitarian organizations will arrive in Havana on March 21 to deliver urgently needed supplies -- and to challenge the brutal U.S. policies that are stranglingthe island.
The Nuestra America Convoy, including CODEPINK, Progressive International, The People's Forum, and Global Health Partners, will converge along Havana's Malecon by air and sea. This is not charity. It is an act of solidarity -- and defiance -- against a decades-long economic war that has only intensified under the latest round of U.S. sanctions.
The Trump administration's renewed assault on Cuba -- particularly its deliberate restrictions on fuel shipments -- has pushed an already suffering population into crisis. Hospitals are plunged into darkness during surgeries. Ambulances sit idle due to a lack of gasoline. Families cook with charcoal in apartment buildings because there is no cooking gas. Public transportation barely exists. Food rots without refrigeration.
This is collective punishment.
For more than 60 years, the United States has enforced a sweeping blockade condemned by the overwhelming majority of the international community. Now, with fuel deliveries choked off and financial penalties threatening any country or company that dares to help, the siege has reached a dangerous new level. The United Nations has warned of escalating humanitarian consequences if these conditions persist.
The Nuestra America Convoy is bringing food, medicine, and essential goods -- small lifelines in the face of policies designed to create maximum suffering. The effort has drawn support from international voices such as climate activist Greta Thunberg and former British MP Jeremy Corbyn, who recognize that humanitarian solidarity must transcend borders.
"We refuse to stand by while our government conducts economic warfare that is depriving 11 million people of electricity, healthcare, and the basics of life," said CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin, who has been delivering powered milk to children's hospitals on the island for the past two years.
This mission is a declaration: The Cuban people are not alone. The blockade must end.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.codepink.org/cubaconvoypr
[Category: Sociological]
