Public Policy & NGOs
Here's a look at documents from public policy and non-governmental organizations
Featured Stories
One month into escalating violence, Mali families face humanitarian catastrophe
NEW YORK, May 25 [Category: International] -- The International Rescue Committee posted the following news release:
* * *
One month into escalating violence, Mali families face humanitarian catastrophe
*
Bamako, Mali, May 25, 2026 - One month into a major escalation in armed conflict, families in Mali are struggling to access sufficient food, healthcare, water, and basic services they need to survive. The IRC warns that needs are rising fast across the country, where 5.1 million people already require humanitarian assistance. Without urgent funding, the most vulnerable communities will be left
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, May 25 [Category: International] -- The International Rescue Committee posted the following news release:
* * *
One month into escalating violence, Mali families face humanitarian catastrophe
*
Bamako, Mali, May 25, 2026 - One month into a major escalation in armed conflict, families in Mali are struggling to access sufficient food, healthcare, water, and basic services they need to survive. The IRC warns that needs are rising fast across the country, where 5.1 million people already require humanitarian assistance. Without urgent funding, the most vulnerable communities will be leftwithout support. Rising transportation costs and supply disruptions are reducing the availability of essential goods, including staple foods, medicines, fuel, and farming supplies. At the same time, fuel shortages and insecurity are disrupting the delivery of medical supplies to hard-to-reach areas, and limiting humanitarian access to vulnerable communities..
"The impact of this violence is rippling far beyond the frontlines, said Matias Meier, IRC Country Director in Mali. "Our teams are doing everything possible to keep critical services running, but urgent and sustained funding is needed now. Needs are rising fast, and humanitarian organizations are struggling to keep pace. Without additional support, the most vulnerable communities will be cut off from the aid they need to survive."
Women and children are facing the greatest risks. In parts of central Mali, including Youwarou in the Mopti region, these pressures are making it increasingly difficult for families to meet their daily needs. Across Mali, more than one million children are projected to face severe acute malnutrition, and reduced access is delaying critical nutrition support for children and pregnant women. Limited mobility is also increasing protection risks for women and girls, particularly in isolated communities.
"As violence escalates across Mali, families already struggling with hunger and displacement are being pushed to the brink, " said an IRC health worker in Mali. "Mobile health clinics are facing growing difficulties in reaching remote communities, contributing to reduced vaccination coverage and leaving many to give birth at home without trained medical care and facing life-threatening complications.
Mali features in the IRC's 2026 Emergency Watchlist as one of the countries most at risk of further humanitarian deterioration. The IRC calls for urgent, sustained humanitarian attention and flexible funding to ensure that families in Mali are not left without the support they need to survive. Continued donor support is critical to keep health teams moving, ensure children can receive nutrition treatment, help women and girls access protection services, and preserve essential assistance for families already living under immense pressure. Mali remains one of the world's most underreported humanitarian crises.
Since 2012, the International Rescue Committee has worked alongside communities affected by crisis and displacement in Mali, delivering health, nutrition, protection, economic recovery, and water and sanitation services. IRC teams continue working closely with local communities, authorities, and partners to adapt their response and maintain access to life-saving support in some of the most difficult operating environments in the world.
***
Original text here: https://www.rescue.org/press-release/one-month-escalating-violence-mali-families-face-humanitarian-catastrophe
Peterson Institute for International Economics Issues Commentary: Why a Scandal in Brazil May Be Good News for EU-Mercosur
WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The Peterson Institute for International Economics issued the following commentary on May 21, 2026, by senior research staffer Monica De Bolle: Why a scandal in Brazil may be good news for EU-Mercosur.
The EU-Mercosur trade agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay is, on a generous reading, the most important piece of economic news to come out of Brazil over the past 20 years. Europe's ratification seems on track, but a recent dramatic turn of events may have improved its chances of ratification in Brazil.
That
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The Peterson Institute for International Economics issued the following commentary on May 21, 2026, by senior research staffer Monica De Bolle: Why a scandal in Brazil may be good news for EU-Mercosur.
The EU-Mercosur trade agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay is, on a generous reading, the most important piece of economic news to come out of Brazil over the past 20 years. Europe's ratification seems on track, but a recent dramatic turn of events may have improved its chances of ratification in Brazil.
Thatoccurred with the disclosure of a potential financial scandal involving Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, former president Jair Bolsonaro's son and a presidential candidate himself, who would be in a position to block the deal if he is elected later this year. Earlier this month, Intercept Brasil, a new independent nonprofit journalism organization, reported links between the younger Bolsonaro and Daniel Vorcaro, the jailed owner of Banco Master, which recently collapsed amid accusations of financial fraud.
Surfaced audio recordings appeared to capture Flavio personally pressuring Vorcaro about overdue payments for the production of "Dark Horse," a film about Jair Bolsonaro. The accompanying bank transfer records published by Intercept Brasil show that substantial funds were transferred to the Bolsonaro family, directly implicating Flavio Bolsonaro in yet another major, still-unfolding corruption scandal.
As a result, within a few days, new polls showed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opening a 7-point lead against Flavio. Meanwhile, two opposition parties filed to strip Bolsonaro's son of his Senate mandate. It is too early to say that Flavio Bolsonaro's candidacy is finished, but the possibility that the Bolsonaro name may be absent from the ballot in October reduces the likelihood that the EU-Mercosur agreement will be rejected.
The EU-Mercosur partnership agreement was signed in Asuncion, Paraguay, on January 17 and has been applied provisionally since May 1. On January 21, the European Parliament voted 334 to 324 to refer the agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a ruling on whether it can be applied before all member states ratify it and whether it constrains the European Union's environmental and consumer protection powers. That referral could delay full ratification by up to two years.
Years of negotiations on the trade deal ran into a major obstacle in the form of former president Bolsonaro's appalling record on environmental policies, including Amazon deforestation. Lula reversed these policies, which helped to bring the deal back from the dead. Jair Bolsonaro's direct heir, Flavio, is seen as likely to follow in his father's footsteps and block the deal.
There has been a temptation to read Flavio Bolsonaro as a more tractable, less ideological version of his father, that is, a politician who would govern with less climate denialism and more institutional restraint. That reading does not survive contact with anything Flavio has said about foreign policy. His pitch to Brazilian voters is that only a Bolsonaro can work with President Donald Trump. He has telegraphed, mostly through his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, currently living in the United States, concessions to Washington on rare earth elements, narcoterrorism designations for domestic groups, and bilateral trade terms, all of which would undermine the multilateral approach Lula has been rebuilding over the past four years.
Lula managed to defuse some of these arguments through his successful visit to the White House earlier this month. But a Flavio presidency would make the Brazilian government again the principal political obstacle to EU-Mercosur ratification on the European side. Every European agriculture minister whose farmers are nervous about Brazilian beef and Argentine grains would, overnight, regain the political cover to vote "no." The CJEU referral, which currently appears to be a procedural delay, would deal a potential fatal blow, a risk that markets have not priced.
The trade, growth, and investment implications for Brazil would be massive. Locking in preferential access for the bulk of Brazilian agricultural exports to the European Union and exposing Brazil's manufacturing to a productivity shock that decades of protectionism had prevented is worth more to Brazil's development potential than any other policy discussion the current candidates could present.
The route by which Flavio's candidacy may now be derailed--the leaked audios, ongoing investigations by Brazil's Federal Police, and a Supreme Court whose impartiality the Brazilian right has spent three years disputing--is not what anyone would opt for. The Banco Master investigation has already cost the Supreme Court a justice and forced the Central Bank to defend its supervisory record in court. The institutional damage is real and will not undo itself.
The comparison, however, is not between this and a clean election, but rather between the scandal and a Flavio Bolsonaro presidency credible enough to negotiate Brazil's posture through the entire 2027-29 ratification window. The scandal has shifted the runoff probability enough that the EU-Mercosur ratification window is now likelier to close with a Brazilian government able to sit across the table from European parliaments without instantly making the deal untenable.
There are at least two things to watch. First, whether the European Parliament's CJEU referral is resolved fast enough that ratification happens before the elections in October. The Brazilian government has every incentive to push for the procedural acceleration that French and Polish opposition will try to slow down. Second, whether the Lula administration uses the political opening to sign the side letters on enforcement, deforestation monitoring, and agricultural safeguards that European parliaments will need to vote "yes."
Ironically, a major financial fraud scandal is opening the door to long-term economic gains. While this is a route no one wanted to take, it provides an opportunity for the country to lock in an international agreement that would pave the way for Brazil's development. Whether Brazil seizes the opening, however, will depend less on the courts and the headlines than on whether the Lula administration finally treats EU-Mercosur as the economic priority it has long deserved.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2026/why-scandal-brazil-may-be-good-news-eu-mercosur
[Category: Economics]
Environmental Defense Fund: Colorado Approves Fee Increases to Support Air Quality Protections
NEW YORK, May 23 -- The Environmental Defense Fund posted the following news release on May 22, 2026:
* * *
Colorado approves fee increases to support air quality protections
Colorado updates permit and emissions fees so the cost of maintaining air pollution regulatory services falls on companies instead of taxpayers.
*
(BOULDER, CO) - After years of chronic underfunding, today the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission unanimously approved increases to permit and emissions fees to fund the Air Pollution Control Division, also known as "the Division".
The Division is authorized to fund
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, May 23 -- The Environmental Defense Fund posted the following news release on May 22, 2026:
* * *
Colorado approves fee increases to support air quality protections
Colorado updates permit and emissions fees so the cost of maintaining air pollution regulatory services falls on companies instead of taxpayers.
*
(BOULDER, CO) - After years of chronic underfunding, today the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission unanimously approved increases to permit and emissions fees to fund the Air Pollution Control Division, also known as "the Division".
The Division is authorized to fundits programs through a combination of fee increases and General Fund contributions, but access to the General Fund is now extremely limited. With both the General Assembly and Joint Budget Committee indicating there will be no new appropriations to the Division, fee increases are currently the only viable way to support healthy air quality protections statewide without increasing the burden on taxpayers.
"The companies that profit from using the state's natural resources should bear the costs associated with controlling pollution, rather than taxpayers who already contend with the health and safety impacts of that pollution. Looking ahead, Colorado regulators should build on this progress by developing a more durable funding structure" said Nini Gu, Senior Regulatory & Legislative Manager at EDF.
State law requires the Division to improve air quality and meet state and federal climate, environmental justice, air toxics, and other regulatory obligations. Approval of this funding will allow the Division to fulfill its responsibilities while avoiding a negative budget balance at the end of fiscal year 2027.
The updated fee structure provides essential funding so the Division can continue monitoring and inspecting emitting sources, strengthen enforcement of existing laws, and improve air quality protections across the state. A well-resourced Division allows for more timely review and approval of permits and applications for regulated entities.
With improved funding, the Division can expand its community outreach efforts, translation and interpretation services, and ensure digital access to its records and data. Transparency and accountability to Coloradans are both essential for a regulator responsible for making critical decisions affecting the state's future.
The Air Quality Control Commission's adoption of these fee increases is an important step for fiscal year 2027, but ensuring the Division's long-term stability will require a more permanent funding structure, especially as Colorado faces growing air quality challenges. Looking ahead, the AQCC and the Division should build on this progress by developing a more durable funding structure that can keep pace with Colorado's evolving air quality needs.
Background:
Colorado's air regulatory bodies have helped establish the state as a national leader on methane emissions reductions. A 2025 EDF analysis of satellite data found that Colorado reduced methane emissions from its oil and gas sector by nearly 70% between 2010 and 2017. Colorado was the first state in the nation to adopt methane rules in 2014.
Funding air quality programs through emissions and permit fees is common practice across multiple states, but fees must be updated regularly to reflect the true cost of regulating air pollution. Failing to adjust fees as the regulatory responsibilities expand risks chronic underfunding and weakened enforcement.
New Mexico recently adopted similar fee increases for its Environment Department to ensure the agency's budget aligns with its growing workload.
* * *
With more than 3 million members, Environmental Defense Fund creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships to turn solutions into action. edf.org
* * *
Original text here: https://www.edf.org/media/colorado-approves-fee-increases-support-air-quality-protections
[Category: Environment]
CAIR-SFBA Says San Diego Mosque Shooting Must Not Be Used Against Los Gatos Muslim Congregation
WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on May 21, 2026:
* * *
CAIR-SFBA Says San Diego Mosque Shooting Must Not Be Used Against Los Gatos Muslim Congregation
Muslim civil rights group urges Planning Commission to approve West Valley Muslim Association's permit application and reject fear-based restrictions
*
(SANTA CLARA, CA) -- The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today urged the Los Gatos Planning Commission
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on May 21, 2026:
* * *
CAIR-SFBA Says San Diego Mosque Shooting Must Not Be Used Against Los Gatos Muslim Congregation
Muslim civil rights group urges Planning Commission to approve West Valley Muslim Association's permit application and reject fear-based restrictions
*
(SANTA CLARA, CA) -- The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today urged the Los Gatos Planning Commissionto approve the West Valley Muslim Association's (WVMA) conditional use permit application and reject attempts to use this week's deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego to justify additional restrictions on the local Muslim congregation.
In a letter sent to planning commissioners ahead of tonight's continued deliberations, CAIR-SFBA said it was "shocked and appalled" that some neighbors invoked the San Diego mosque attack to argue for more restrictions on WVMA and its congregants.
SEE: CAIR-SFBA Letter to Los Gatos Planning Commission (https://ca.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/5.21.26_CAIR-SFBA-Letter-to-Los-Gatos-Planning-Commission.pdf)
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo said:
"A hate-motivated shooting that left worshippers dead, families shattered, and children traumatized should never be used as ammunition in a local land use dispute. WVMA and its congregants would be the targets of anti-Muslim violence, not the source of danger. Local government must make clear that Muslim families belong here and that their rights will be protected equally."
CAIR-SFBA said WVMA has been engaging responsibly with the Town of Los Gatos, law enforcement, and fire officials on traffic management, emergency access, occupancy, and safety planning since acquiring the property, and that the draft conditions already address those concerns.
The organization also noted that the Town Attorney has reportedly acknowledged that several previously proposed conditions likely raised concerns under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, or RLUIPA, a federal law that protects religious institutions from discriminatory land use treatment.
"The question before the Town is whether Muslims will be treated equally under the law," Billoo said. "Any conditions imposed on WVMA must be lawful, neutral, evidence-based, and applied consistently across religious institutions. The Planning Commission should not single out this congregation for unequal treatment."
CAIR-SFBA urged the Planning Commission to approve WVMA's application, reject fear-based narratives, and ensure that any conditions imposed are lawful, neutral, evidence-based, and consistent with how the Town treats other religious institutions.
CAIR-SFBA said it is monitoring the matter closely and is prepared to support WVMA and the Muslim community in protecting their civil rights, including through legal advocacy if necessary.
* * *
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-sfba-says-san-diego-mosque-shooting-must-not-be-used-against-los-gatos-muslim-congregation/
[Category: Sociological]
World Relief Laments Cruel, Anti-Family Immigration Policy Change
BALTIMORE, Maryland, May 23 -- World Relief issued the following news release on May 22, 2026:
* * *
World Relief Laments Cruel, Anti-Family Immigration Policy Change
New USCIS Memo Largely Restricting Adjustment of Status for Individuals Lawfully Admitted to the United States Is Latest in String of Policies Restricting Legal Immigration
*
Today, the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a shocking memo, largely halting the longstanding practice of allowing non-citizens who entered the United States lawfully and now qualify under U.S. law for Lawful Permanent Resident
... Show Full Article
BALTIMORE, Maryland, May 23 -- World Relief issued the following news release on May 22, 2026:
* * *
World Relief Laments Cruel, Anti-Family Immigration Policy Change
New USCIS Memo Largely Restricting Adjustment of Status for Individuals Lawfully Admitted to the United States Is Latest in String of Policies Restricting Legal Immigration
*
Today, the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a shocking memo, largely halting the longstanding practice of allowing non-citizens who entered the United States lawfully and now qualify under U.S. law for Lawful Permanent Residentstatus to "adjust status" within the United States. These individuals, many of whom are sponsored by U.S. citizen spouses, parents, or adult children, will instead need to return to their countries of origin to endure a months- or years-long process abroad.
World Relief, a global Christian humanitarian organization that provides immigration legal services in locations throughout the United States, laments this alarming new policy, the latest of several administrative changes that restrict legal immigration and separate families.
"This is the latest step in an effort to systematically dismantle legal immigration, and it will have devastating consequences on families. Our faith as Christians teaches us that God established the family unit and that what God has joined together, no one should separate. This policy, impacting individuals who meet the legal requirements for a green card, will force apart husbands from wives and children from their parents. There's simply no compelling reason for this cruel, anti-family policy change, and I hope and pray it will be reversed, whether by administrative reconsideration, congressional action or the courts," commented Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief.
Adjustment of Status is a longstanding element of U.S. immigration policy that allows individuals who entered the country lawfully (such as with a temporary work visa, a student visa, humanitarian parole or a tourist visa) who become eligible for a green card to process that application for Lawful Permanent Resident status within the United States. Most often this happens because they married a U.S. citizen or have another U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident family sponsor. In the last quarter of FY 2025, roughly 73 percent of all approved Adjustments of Status were based on family sponsorship.
This new memo makes clear that because Adjustment of Status is a discretionary benefit, USCIS will allow Adjustments of Status only in "exceptional" circumstances. Most families who previously could have stayed together during months or years of bureaucratic processing will apparently now be forced to separate, with the non-citizen family member leaving the United States and living abroad while awaiting processing, away from U.S. citizen family members who often cannot leave due to employment or caregiving responsibilities.
The effects of this dramatic new policy are further exacerbated by a total ban on consular processing of immigrant visas for 75 countries around the world, implemented in January by the U.S. State Department. If families are told that the non-citizen family member must return to his or her country of origin to process their immigrant visa, but immigrant visas are not being processed there, it's a Catch-22. These policies will effectively create an indefinite separation of families.
"This is the latest in a series of immigration policies that will tear families apart," said Matthew Soerens, World Relief's vice president of advocacy and policy. "It's also the latest policy dramatically rolling back legal immigration, despite broad evidence that most Americans believe legal immigration is beneficial." According to recent polling, 83 percent of all Americans believe that legal immigration contributes to economic growth. Among evangelical Christians, 86 percent say legal immigration has been helpful to the U.S., and 90 percent believe that U.S. immigration policies should "protect the unity of the immediate family."
Earlier this month, World Relief partnered with the National Association of Evangelicals to release a report, "Joined Together, Torn Apart," that sought to quantify the likely effects of previously announced immigration policies on mixed-status families, where at least one family member is a U.S. citizen but another is a non-citizen. The report found that, by 2029:
* 910,000 U.S. citizen children would be separated from one or both parents by detention and deportation policies
* 272,000 U.S. citizens will be separated from their spouses by detention and deportation policies
* 150,000 spouses and children currently abroad in countries affected by immigrant visa travel bans will remain separated
This new policy will add to this family separation effect, forcing families who are currently together - where all members of the family unit were born in or entered the country lawfully - to separate in order to abide by the law. For those from the 75 countries on the immigrant visa ban, most of which are in Africa, Asia, or Latin America, that separation could be indefinite.
World Relief urges the administration to reconsider this needless change and urges Congress to clarify the law as necessary to ensure that families seeking to abide by the law are able to do so without separation.
World Relief advises immigrants and their families who may be affected by this policy change to consult with an experienced immigration attorney or with an organization recognized by the Department of Justice to provide immigration legal guidance, including many local offices of World Relief and many local church partners.
* * *
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization whose mission is to boldly engage the world's greatest crises in partnership with the church. The organization was founded in the aftermath of World War II to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of war-torn Europe.
Since then, for over 80 years, across 100 countries, World Relief has partnered with local churches and communities to build a world where families thrive and communities flourish. Today, organizational programming focuses on humanitarian and disaster response, as well as community strengthening and resilience.
* * *
Original text here: https://worldrelief.org/pr-world-relief-laments-cruel-anti-family-immigration-policy-change/
[Category: Sociological]
CAIR and CAIR-FL Join Global Coalition Demanding Justice for Sayfollah Musallet and Americans Killed by Israeli Settlers Violence
WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on May 22, 2026:
* * *
CAIR and CAIR-FL Join Global Coalition Demanding Justice for Sayfollah Musallet and Americans Killed by Israeli Settlers Violence
CAIR and the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR and CAIR-Florida) today joined a diverse global coalition of over 70 global, national, and local faith and human rights groups urging U.S. officials to hold perpetrators accountable for the murder of the Florida resident and other American citizens.
SEE: Letter to
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on May 22, 2026:
* * *
CAIR and CAIR-FL Join Global Coalition Demanding Justice for Sayfollah Musallet and Americans Killed by Israeli Settlers Violence
CAIR and the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR and CAIR-Florida) today joined a diverse global coalition of over 70 global, national, and local faith and human rights groups urging U.S. officials to hold perpetrators accountable for the murder of the Florida resident and other American citizens.
SEE: Letter toSecretary Rubio (https://x.com/imeupolicy/status/2057855195317453148?s=20)
The letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demands accountability and an independent, U.S.-led investigation into the killing of American citizens, including 20-year-old Tampa, Florida ice cream shop owner, Sayfollah 'Sayf' Kamel Musallet. This letter was launched in tandem with an effort led by U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL), whose congressional letter was signed by 25 U.S. Representatives.
SEE: CAIR-FL Commends Rep. Castor, 25 Other U.S. Reps Calling for Justice for FL Resident, Other Americans Killed by Settler Violence in West Bank (https://cairflorida.org/press/cair-florida-commends-rep-kathy-castors-letter-demanding-justice-for-florida-resident-sayfollah-musallet-and-americans-killed-by-settler-violence-in-west-bank/)
Rep. Castor's initial letter highlighted a critical lack of accountability by the Israeli government regarding the brutal July 11, 2025, murder of Musallet--who was beaten to death by extremist Israeli settlers while protecting his family's land--as well as the recent killings of other American citizens, including Khamis al-Ayyad and 19-year-old Nasrallah Abu Siyam, who was shot and killed by an Israeli settler on February 18, 2026. The coalition letter reaffirms the urgency and further demands the latest developments concerning American families killed by Israel and the steps taken on behalf of U.S. government officials to investigate and deliver justice.
In response to the initiative, CAIR-Florida Executive Director Hiba Rahim stated:
"We are profoundly grateful for and heartened by the powerful wave of global solidarity from this diverse, international coalition standing with us in the pursuit of justice. This collective global support sends an undeniable message: the world is watching, and we will not allow the lives of American citizens to be taken with impunity." The executive director added:
"We explicitly and unequivocally condemn the horrific, systemic Israeli settler violence targeting American citizens and Palestinians in the West Bank. For nearly a year, Sayfollah's grieving family in Tampa has been met with unacceptable silence while state-enabled extremist violence goes completely unchecked. The U.S. government has a fundamental duty to protect its citizens abroad. We join our global partners in demanding that Secretary Rubio, Ambassador Huckabee, and the Department of Justice immediately launch an independent, U.S.-led investigation to deliver the absolute accountability these families deserve."
CALL TO ACTION FOR FLORIDA CITIZENS AND LEADERS:
CAIR-Florida is urgently calling on all Florida citizens, religious leaders, and civil rights organizations to amplify the demand for justice and email your US officials, urging them to take stronger measures to curb Israeli settler violence against U.S. Citizens in the West Bank:
* * *
CAIR-Florida's mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-and-cair-fl-join-global-coalition-demanding-justice-for-sayfollah-musallet-and-americans-killed-by-israeli-settlers-violence/
[Category: Sociological]
TRCP Applauds Inclusion of Hunting and Fishing Priorities in Bipartisan House Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill
WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership issued the following news release on May 22, 2026:
* * *
TRCP Applauds Inclusion of Hunting and Fishing Priorities in Bipartisan House Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill
Wildlife crossings, fish passage and habitat resilience among key hunting and fishing priorities advanced by House Committee.
*
Today, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced the BUILD America 250 Act, a surface transportation reauthorization package that includes several provisions of significant importance to hunters and
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 23 -- The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership issued the following news release on May 22, 2026:
* * *
TRCP Applauds Inclusion of Hunting and Fishing Priorities in Bipartisan House Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill
Wildlife crossings, fish passage and habitat resilience among key hunting and fishing priorities advanced by House Committee.
*
Today, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced the BUILD America 250 Act, a surface transportation reauthorization package that includes several provisions of significant importance to hunters andanglers.
The BUILD America 250 Act reauthorizes the highway trust fund, which governs federal funding for highways, bridges, transit, and safety programs. This package also contains a multitude of hunter and angler priorities that the nation's leading hunting, fishing, and conservation organizations outlined in our united platform: "Hunt and Fish Priorities for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill."
"Surface transportation reauthorization may not be the first place hunters and anglers look for conservation results, but the programs advanced in the BUILD America 250 Act deliver tangible, on-the-ground benefits - from wildlife crossings that keep big-game herds connected, to culvert replacements that open miles of streams to fish, to improving the resilience of our nation's surface transportation infrastructure through fish and wildlife habitat restoration and nature-based solutions," said Joel Webster, TRCP's chief conservation officer. "We are grateful to the committee for advancing this legislation and look forward to continuing to work with Congress to ensure hunters' and anglers' priorities remain at the forefront as the process moves forward."
Some of the provisions in this bill that would be most beneficial to hunters and anglers are:
The Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, which was created in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and is reauthorized in this piece of legislation. This program helped provide funds to state departments of transportation to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity by constructing and studying wildlife crossings. These crossings improve driver safety, sustain big-game populations, and improve wildlife connectivity. For hunters and anglers, these crossings mean healthier big-game herds, more accessible hunting grounds and fish populations that can move more freely across the landscape.
The Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program was funded at $80 million annually over fiscal year 2027-2031. This is a $10 million annual increase over the funding level in IIJA. The BUILD America 250 Act also required 75 percent of funds to be obligated on rural projects and placed a limitation of no more than 5 percent of funds to be used on non-construction activities. It also requires the Secretary of Transportation to submit to Congress an annual report on the program.
The National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration Program was created in the IIJA and is reauthorized in this piece of legislation. This program reduces flooding-related damage to public transportation infrastructure and improves habitat connectivity by removing or replacing old or poorly designed culverts that impede fish passage and are likely to fail during severe weather events. For anglers, restoring fish passage means more fish in more streams - and better access to the fishing opportunities that define the sporting traditions of communities across the country.
The National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration Program was funded at $200 million annually over fiscal year 2027-2031. This is the same funding level it received in IIJA. The BUILD America 250 Act also expanded the eligibility of projects that restore fish passage in weirs, and ensured that consortiums of state, local, and tribal government were eligible for these funds.
The Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) program was created in the IIJA and is reauthorized in this piece of legislation. This program plans for and strengthens surface transportation to be more resilient to current and future weather events, natural disasters, and extreme weather. This improves fish and wildlife habitat by utilizing nature-based solutions and habitat restoration to improve resilience. For hunters and anglers, investments in infrastructure resilience translate directly to healthier watersheds, fish and wildlife habitat, and the long-term viability of the places they depend on.
The PROTECT program had significant structural and funding changes in this legislation. The program was composed of a formula and discretionary based funding distribution model. The formula funds were distributed to all 50 states from the highway trust fund based on parameters that are determined by Congress. The discretionary funding was distributed through a competitive grant process. The BUILD America 250 Act eliminates the formula portion of PROTECT and increases the discretionary funding by $1.1 billion. While we appreciate the inclusion of the program, the $6.2 billion reduction in overall funding will limit state and local governments ability to improve the resilience of their infrastructure.
The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund is reauthorized in this piece of legislation. The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund was established in the Dingell-Johnson Act of 1950. It forms a foundational pillar of funding for state fish and wildlife agencies by redistributing excise taxes on fishing equipment and motorboat and small engine fuels to state agencies for fish habitat improvements, fish and boating access and boating safety.
While the reduction in overall PROTECT funding is a concern TRCP will continue to raise with lawmakers, we remain encouraged by the inclusion of the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, the National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration Program, the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund and PROTECT.
TRCP is committed to working with Congress to strengthen these programs and advance hunter and angler priorities as the surface transportation reauthorization process moves forward.
Read the Hunt and Fish Priorities for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill HERE (https://www.trcp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/DOT-Platform-1.pdf)
* * *
The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you'll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we're spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.trcp.org/2026/05/22/trcp-applauds-inclusion-of-hunting-and-fishing-priorities-in-bipartisan-house-surface-transportation-reauthorization-bill/
[Category: Environment]
