Public Policy
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from public policy organizations whose goal it is to influence the debate Washington.
Featured Stories
Public Citizen: Recover Improperly Disbursed Paycheck Protection Program Funds
WASHINGTON, May 26 (TNSres)(TNSreact) -- Public Citizen issued the following news release:
The Paycheck Protection Program, a critical pillar of the CARES Act pandemic relief legislation, failed to equitably distribute money despite an avowed goal of focusing on small businesses, according to a new report from seven public interest organizations and labor unions.
In addition to adopting other reforms for future relief programs, the U.S. Small Business Administration should use its statutory power to claw back improperly issued or misused loans. Those cases might include PPP loan recipients who
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WASHINGTON, May 26 (TNSres)(TNSreact) -- Public Citizen issued the following news release:
The Paycheck Protection Program, a critical pillar of the CARES Act pandemic relief legislation, failed to equitably distribute money despite an avowed goal of focusing on small businesses, according to a new report from seven public interest organizations and labor unions.
In addition to adopting other reforms for future relief programs, the U.S. Small Business Administration should use its statutory power to claw back improperly issued or misused loans. Those cases might include PPP loan recipients whofailed to spend at least 60% of their loan proceeds on employee wages, and cases where recipients used the money to issue stockholder dividends, buy back stock, or award executive bonuses.
"Robust government relief programs can be critical drivers in reducing the structural and racial inequities holding communities in economic precarity - if they are properly administered," said Aliya Sabharwal, campaign manager at Americans for Financial Reform. "But too much PPP money went to large corporations with wealthy parent corporations or Wall Street backers. Many truly small businesses that were owned and operated in communities facing disproportionate impacts from COVID-19 outbreaks, illness, and death, were left behind."
"PPP spent $800 billion to save small businesses shut down during the pandemic and help their employees survive the worst," said Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president, Public Citizen. "While many living on the edge did get help, too many taxpayer dollars went to large corporations that didn't need the money and didn't spend it on their workers. Worse, due to poor controls and oversight, a lot of the money went to fraudsters."
"PPP was designed as an innovative emergency lending program that not only would help small businesses but also ensure taxpayer dollars went to the workers most in need of support," said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11. "Sadly, the program didn't live up to its promise, and wealthy hotels like the luxury Chateau Marmont in Hollywood received millions while failing to rehire most of their workers. Now is the time to figure out why and take steps to ensure the next emergency lending program doesn't repeat the same mistakes."
Combining insights from a diverse set of organizations, including government accountability and policy advocacy groups, labor unions, research experts, and financial reform advocates, the 27-page report highlights multiple systemic problems with the PPP. Together, they prevented critical funds from reaching small businesses in need and sent them instead to corporations that did not use the money to retain workers and keep them afloat.
Americans For Financial Reform Education Fund, Good Jobs First, Project on Government Oversight, Public Citizen, the Fight for $15 and a Union, UNITE HERE Local 11, and United Steelworkers developed the program assessment as well as four case studies illustrating PPP's problems.
The case studies involve large hotel chains like the Westmont Hospitality Group, which received millions of taxpayer dollars but fired workers anyway; a Giti Tire manufacturing plant in South Carolina that obtained PPP funds despite having a wealthy foreign parent corporation; McDonald's franchises in California that together received $240 million in PPP loans but exposed their workers to illness while denying them sick days and personal protective equipment; and multiple corporations backed by private equity firms flush with cash.
The report offered six recommendations to improve PPP outcomes and ensure the improved operation of any future emergency lending program:
-Imposing more robust loan guardrails upfront to screen borrowers more carefully;
-Improving the selection of lenders to ensure a more equitable distribution of loans;
-Conducting better loan audits to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse;
-Establishing stricter standards for loan forgiveness, particularly over $150,000;
-Increasing public loan data to enable more program transparency; and
-Including more funding to conduct needed loan oversight.
"The Paycheck Protection Program was supposed to help workers during an incredibly difficult period, not enrich large companies and their shareholders," said Dan Flippo, District 9 director for the United Steelworkers, whose district includes South Carolina and six other southern states. "Workers at Giti Tire, like so many workers across the country, were counting on PPP to preserve their jobs and help them work safely. This report is an important first step in holding greedy companies that took advantage of this program accountable."
"Billions of taxpayer dollars have subsidized McDonald's and other fast-food corporations for years -- the Paycheck Protection Program is just the latest example," said Vidaly Jimenez, a McDonald's worker from Oakland, Calif., and a leader in the Fight for $15 and a Union. "As fast-food cooks and cashiers, we risked our safety to serve our communities while fast-food CEOs and shareholders made record profits. Despite being classified as essential and our bosses receiving huge sums of aid, many of us were denied essential protections like paid sick days, proper safety protocols and adequate PPE. The PPP prioritized fast-food giants over fast-food workers -- companies like McDonald's, Burger King, Jack in the Box, and others must be held accountable."
"It's inexcusable that so many families faced the loss of their homes, worried about getting food on the table and went to work without proper safety protections, even as some corporations and shareholders raked it in," said Katie Furtado, research analyst for Good Jobs First. "The good news is that it isn't too late to go after the companies that misused these funds and make sure this situation never happens again."
"The urgency of the need that the COVID crisis created does not excuse the poor design and management of the Paycheck Protection Program," said Sean Moulton, senior policy analyst for Project On Government Oversight. "Too much of the program's funds were lost to waste and fraud, leaving many businesses without sufficient support. These and other examples prove that while speed in a crisis is important, if you ignore oversight entirely you risk the effectiveness of the program."
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REPORT: https://ourfinancialsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Lessons-Learned-from-the-PPP-Final-2.pdf
[Category: Political]
Progress Michigan Statement on School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas
LANSING, Michigan, May 26 -- Progress Michigan, an organization that says it holds public officials and government accountable and assist in the promotion of progressive ideas, issued the following news release on May 25, 2022:
At least 19 children and two adults were killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, about 85 miles outside of San Antonio. The following response can be attributed to Myaia Holmes, gun violence prevention campaign manager at Progress Michigan:
"My heart goes out to the families of the students and teachers who lost their lives in Uvalde, Texas
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LANSING, Michigan, May 26 -- Progress Michigan, an organization that says it holds public officials and government accountable and assist in the promotion of progressive ideas, issued the following news release on May 25, 2022:
At least 19 children and two adults were killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, about 85 miles outside of San Antonio. The following response can be attributed to Myaia Holmes, gun violence prevention campaign manager at Progress Michigan:
"My heart goes out to the families of the students and teachers who lost their lives in Uvalde, Texasyesterday. Students everywhere deserve safe schools, and parents should feel confident knowing that when they send their kids to school in the morning that they'll return safely at the end of the day.
"Gun violence is a public health crisis that is unique to the U.S. and it's gone unchecked for too long. Today I grieve with the community affected by this violence and plead with our lawmakers to put partisan politics aside and take action to save lives.
"In Michigan, we have safe storage and extreme risk protection order (ERPO) bills waiting for action in the state legislature. How much longer do we have to wait to move these bills and keep our communities safe?"
[Category: Politics]
Kids in Need of Defense Statement on Texas School Shooting
WASHINGTON, May 26 (TNStalk) -- Kids in Need of Defense, a non-governmental organization that says it is devoted to protection of unaccompanied and separated children, issued the following agency statement:
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The friends and families of 19 children and two teachers in Texas awoke to a nightmare that will never end. Those wounded in the attack and the children who survive this tragic event will live with that trauma for the rest of their lives.
We cannot become numb to the pain and needs of others, especially children, and the grief we feel must fuel change. All children deserve safety and
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WASHINGTON, May 26 (TNStalk) -- Kids in Need of Defense, a non-governmental organization that says it is devoted to protection of unaccompanied and separated children, issued the following agency statement:
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The friends and families of 19 children and two teachers in Texas awoke to a nightmare that will never end. Those wounded in the attack and the children who survive this tragic event will live with that trauma for the rest of their lives.
We cannot become numb to the pain and needs of others, especially children, and the grief we feel must fuel change. All children deserve safety andprotection, and they need leadership that prioritizes their well-being over political calculations and polling numbers.
Yesterday's school shooting in Texas was an unconscionable act of violence. It is also a stark reminder that we are failing to uphold our universal and moral commitment to protect kids.
It's time to actually hold leaders accountable for failing to implement policies that protect children.
[Category: Sociological]
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility: Firearms Manufacturers Must Account for the Risks of Gun Violence Perpetrated With Their Weapons, Say Investors
NEW YORK, May 26 (TNSreact) -- The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility issued the following news release:
As our nation once again tries to process the unimaginable - a massacre at an elementary school where 21 people including 19 children, many under the age of 10, were gunned down by an 18-year old man - shareholders in Sturm Ruger ($RGR) are reiterating their call for their fellow investors to support item #4 on the proxy, calling for a third-party human rights impact assessment (HRIA).
While by no means a solution to the complex issue of gun violence, given the lethality of RGR's
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NEW YORK, May 26 (TNSreact) -- The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility issued the following news release:
As our nation once again tries to process the unimaginable - a massacre at an elementary school where 21 people including 19 children, many under the age of 10, were gunned down by an 18-year old man - shareholders in Sturm Ruger ($RGR) are reiterating their call for their fellow investors to support item #4 on the proxy, calling for a third-party human rights impact assessment (HRIA).
While by no means a solution to the complex issue of gun violence, given the lethality of RGR'sfirearms business, investors see due diligence around potential human rights harms as a critical first step toward preventing them. The proposal has the support of proxy advisories ISS and Glass Lewis.
Third-party HRIAs are used by companies to assess existing and potential adverse human rights impacts which can pose significant reputational, financial, and legal risks./i This type of assessment, particularly when conducted by a third-party auditor, can often identify issues that a company may be unaware of in its day-to-day operations--issues that a company can remediate, address or prevent once the risks are identified. While the HRIA is a non-binding document, most companies that undergo these third-party audits find them a valuable tool in a company's risk management structure.
"Whenever someone is injured or killed by gun violence - a daily occurrence in our country - we all ask what could have been done to prevent it," said Laura Krausa of CommonSpirit Health who filed the proposal along with fellow members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. "And while we all know that there are multiple factors contributing to these events, not taking every possible step to prevent them from recurring within our respective spheres of influence is an abdication of responsibility that almost ensures they will recur. This is precisely what the HRIA is meant to do."
According to the Gun Violence Archive,/ii there have already been over 200 mass shootings in the U.S. this year and gun violence has taken the lives of 17,201 people, including 648 children and teens. In fact, gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children and teens in our country/iii .
Said Sr. Judy Byron of the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment who co-filed the proposal at RGR, "That the mass shooting in Buffalo was a hate crime perpetrated by a young white supremacist with an AR he likely modified to kill as many Black people as possible is beyond chilling, and the trauma of it, the fear it has instilled in the Black community, cannot be underestimated. There is a significant opportunity for manufacturers to engage in discussions about what proactive contributions they could make to more effectively prevent harms caused by the products they sell to the public. In order to do this, they must first understand where the gaps are and where the risks are most salient."
In its statement of opposition/iv to the proposal, RGR claims that it is unable to track customer misuse and/or criminal use of its weapons because it sells to distributors rather than directly to consumers. Proponents argue that its indirect sales model does not shield the company from accountability for its potential human rights risks. The pharmaceutical industry, for example, does not sell its products directly to patients, yet it is accountable for any detrimental human rights impacts throughout its value chain, as Pfizer acknowledges in its human rights policy: "In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Pfizer's human rights policy focuses on addressing risks that could have the most severe impact on people: our patients, our colleagues, the workers of our business partners, and the communities in which we operate. Our responsibility to respect human rights extends throughout our operations, from lab to patient, including our diverse global supply chain of numerous local, third-party vendors."/v
Continued Krausa, "A third-party human rights impact assessment will not destroy RGR as management has argued as it isn't legally binding, but it will reveal potential human rights threats to the business and it could save lives. Importantly, an HRIA will show the world that RGR takes seriously the human rights/civil rights risks inherent in its business and demonstrates a genuine willingness to contribute to mitigation and prevention strategies. It will demonstrate that RGR is doing what it can to prevent the next shooting and show that RGR places the lives of its customers and communities above its profits."
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View links showing in text here: https://www.iccr.org/firearms-manufacturers-must-account-risks-gun-violence-perpetrated-their-weapons-say-investors
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Footnotes:
i/ http://www.bsr.org/reports/BSR_Human_Rights_Impact_Assessments.pdf
ii/ https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting
iii/ https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/guns-leading-cause-death-chil...
iv/ https://www.ruger.com/corporate/PDF/Proxy-2022.pdf (pgs 26-28)
v/ https://cdn.pfizer.com/pfizercom/about/Human-Rights-Policy-Aug-2020.pdf
[Category: Business]
Earthworks: Gulf and Environmental Groups File Suit to Halt Dredging Through Toxic Superfund Site for Oil Export Terminal
WASHINGTON, May 26 (TNSpol) -- Earthworks issued the following news release:
A coalition of Gulf and environmental groups represented by Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over its proposal to dredge the Matagorda Bay shipping channel through an EPA Superfund site to vastly expand exports from an oil export terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The project, which would deepen and widen 27 miles of the ship channel from the Gulf of Mexico to the Seahawk Terminal in Point Comfort, Texas, threatens to stir up mercury from the Superfund site and imperils the livelihoods
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WASHINGTON, May 26 (TNSpol) -- Earthworks issued the following news release:
A coalition of Gulf and environmental groups represented by Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over its proposal to dredge the Matagorda Bay shipping channel through an EPA Superfund site to vastly expand exports from an oil export terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The project, which would deepen and widen 27 miles of the ship channel from the Gulf of Mexico to the Seahawk Terminal in Point Comfort, Texas, threatens to stir up mercury from the Superfund site and imperils the livelihoodsof local people working in the fishing, oyster, and shrimp industries. The project should not move forward without a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) from the Army Corps, the environmental groups argue. The project also jeopardizes climate goals by locking in new fossil fuel export infrastructure and a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions through 2070.
"Our fishing community has spent decades trying to recover from dangerous industrial waste dumped in the bay, and this project has the potential to upend all our hard work. Max Midstream will not make a profit at the expense of the bay and our health and livelihoods," said Diane Wilson, fourth-generation shrimper and executive director of San Antonio Estuarine Bay Waterkeeper.
"The local fishing industry and our new coop we are trying to build will never recover from the abuse of Alcoa if this dredging project goes forward. Our lives, livelihoods, and hopes for a future are at stake," said Mauricio Blanco, fisherman and member of the San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper and Texas Campaign for the Environment.
"If both the Army Corps and EPA want to ensure environmental justice is a focus under the Biden Administration, it is imperative they fully evaluate the environmental impacts this project will have on Matagorda Bay and surrounding communities. We cannot allow another fossil fuel project to knowingly harm critical ecosystems, human health, and water recreation on the Texas coast," said Chrystal Beasley, Texas Gulf Coast campaigner at Earthworks.
"This project poses major threats to communities, public health, and the environment, and it would lock us into decades of more dirty fossil fuel exports. The Army Corps must take this dangerous project back to the drawing board and consider all the risks," said Erin Gaines, senior attorney at Earthjustice.
Since the Corps's initial environmental review for the project in 2019, new information has come to light about the anticipated use of the shipping channel and the risks of increased greenhouse gas emissions, mercury contamination, and significant impacts on the lives and livelihoods of people working in the fishing industry. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Corps is required by law to conduct a SEIS to re-evaluate the project's impacts on the environment and local communities.
Plaintiffs San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper, Earthworks, Environmental Integrity Project, Turtle Island Restoration Project, and Texas Campaign for the Environment are represented by lawyers Erin Gaines and Jan Hasselman of Earthjustice.
Earthjustice is also co-counsel with Environmental Integrity Project to represent San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper and Texas Campaign for the Environment in an appeal in state court in Texas filed earlier this month against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's decision to issue air permits for Max Midstream's proposed terminal expansion project.
BACKGROUND
In 2019, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to deepen and widen the Matagorda Bay shipping channel to allow for "Suezmax"-size oil tankers, which are as long as football fields and can carry about 1 million barrels of oil, to pass into the Gulf of Mexico.
The project would also include dredging through an EPA Superfund site in a shipping channel contaminated with mercury by an Alcoa aluminum smelting plant. The Army Corps performed an initial Environmental Impact Statement in 2019 for the dredging of the channel for a much smaller oil terminal project, but that did not capture the scale of the current proposal or include an examination of the most recent data on mercury contamination in the sediment.
Earthjustice and allies sent letters to the Army Corps in October and December 2021 and February 2022 requesting additional study of the possible impacts of the dredging project in a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. In the letters, expert reports supported the need for a re-evaluation of the risks from mercury contamination, including sediment sampling data which found mercury levels six times higher than EPA's goal for the Superfund Site in the dredging area.
Since 1988, an area of Lavaca Bay has been closed to fishing because of high levels of mercury in finfish and crabs. Matagorda Bay and Port Lavaca, across the bay from Point Comfort, historically had a thriving fishing, shrimping, and oystering industry that has sharply declined in part due to industrial pollution. Despite the setbacks, the fishing community is fighting hard to survive.
That survival could be jeopardized, however, by the dredging and the massive oil export terminal project, which would increase the risk of oil spills and dump 20 million cubic yards of dredging spoils in areas that are important aquatic and fisheries habitats.
[Category: Environment]
American Conservative Union: CPAC Releases Scorecard of South Carolina Lawmakers
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, May 26 (TNSpol) -- The American Conservative Union issued the following news release:
South Carolina lawmakers have once again missed the mark in upholding conservative principles in their voting, according to a new analysis conducted by the Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA), a project of CPAC Foundation and the American Conservative Union Foundation.
Despite being known as a Republican stronghold, the South Carolina state legislature earned a conservative rating of 54% in 2021, only slightly above the national average (49%). South Carolina also significantly underperformed
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ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, May 26 (TNSpol) -- The American Conservative Union issued the following news release:
South Carolina lawmakers have once again missed the mark in upholding conservative principles in their voting, according to a new analysis conducted by the Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA), a project of CPAC Foundation and the American Conservative Union Foundation.
Despite being known as a Republican stronghold, the South Carolina state legislature earned a conservative rating of 54% in 2021, only slightly above the national average (49%). South Carolina also significantly underperformedwhen compared to its neighbors North Carolina and Georgia which both earned conservative ratings of 66%. The conservative rating is calculated through CLA's scorecards and is based on lawmaker voting across 186 policy areas ranging from cultural and life issues to tax, fiscal and regulatory policies.
SOUTH CAROLINA SCORECARD: http://ratings.conservative.org/states/SC
SOUTH CAROLINA SCORECARD: https://acu-ratings-pdfs.s3.amazonaws.com/ACU_Ratings_SC-2021.pdf
The ratings have also been incorporated into CPAC's new Lawmaker Comparison Tool which runs head-to-head comparisons on lawmaker's strongest and weakest policy areas.
The CLA is the first and only organization to annually publish individual ratings for all 8,000 federal and state lawmakers in America. The CLA is also home to the nation's most comprehensive conservative policy database containing over 17,500 detailed bill analyses which span 50 years of Congress and all 50 state legislatures.
[Category: Political]
Adrian Dominican Sisters Call for Reasonable Gun Laws in Wake of School Shooting in Texas
ADRIAN, Michigan, May 26 (TNStalk) -- Adrian Dominican Sisters issued the following agency statement on May 25, 2022:
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The General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters issued the following statement, calling for common sense gun safety laws in the wake of the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas - the third mass shooting in 10 days.
Our hearts are broken and enraged that another community in our nation has suffered the ravaging impact of mass murder at the hands of easily obtainable rapid-firing weapons. We do not know what motivated the 18-year-old to
... Show Full Article
ADRIAN, Michigan, May 26 (TNStalk) -- Adrian Dominican Sisters issued the following agency statement on May 25, 2022:
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The General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters issued the following statement, calling for common sense gun safety laws in the wake of the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas - the third mass shooting in 10 days.
Our hearts are broken and enraged that another community in our nation has suffered the ravaging impact of mass murder at the hands of easily obtainable rapid-firing weapons. We do not know what motivated the 18-year-old tomassacre 19 elementary school children and two teachers, injuring numerous others, including his grandmother. We do know that no other country in the world not at war has rampages like this on such a shatteringly recurring basis.
This is the third shooting to take place in 10 days - 10 women and men killed while peacefully shopping at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York; one person killed and five injured the next day at a Presbyterian church in Laguna Woods, California; and yesterday in Uvalde, Texas, the second deadliest school shooting in our nation's history.
How many children and adults whose lives have been taken by gun violence in the last decade might still be alive today if our nation had common sense gun safety laws? A majority of Americans support common sense restrictions on gun ownership. We call on members of Congress to take immediate action to do just that: enact legislation that bans access to militarized assault weapons with high-capacity ammunition magazines, provides for background checks, and restricts concealed weapons, among other steps.
We pray God's loving embrace comforts the grieving families in Uvalde, Buffalo and Laguna Woods who are suffering such devastating loss. "Our God's love never ends. God's mercies never stop. They are new every morning; great is God's faithfulness." (Lam. 3:22-23)
[Category: Religion]
