Public Policy & NGOs
Here's a look at documents from public policy and non-governmental organizations
Featured Stories
WildEarth Guardians: Public Outcry Forces New Mexico Water Board to Follow the Law
SANTA FE, New Mexico, Nov. 15 -- WildEarth Guardians issued the following news release on Nov. 14, 2025:
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Public Outcry Forces New Mexico Water Board to Follow the Law
Water Quality Control Commission vacates oil and gas waste vote
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In a dramatic win for transparency, science, and democracy, the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) voted 7-4 yesterday to vacate its July 8 vote that had advanced an oil-and-gas-funded petition seeking to allow discharge of "treated" fracking waste into New Mexico's lands and waterways.
The petition was filed before the ink was even dry on
... Show Full Article
SANTA FE, New Mexico, Nov. 15 -- WildEarth Guardians issued the following news release on Nov. 14, 2025:
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Public Outcry Forces New Mexico Water Board to Follow the Law
Water Quality Control Commission vacates oil and gas waste vote
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In a dramatic win for transparency, science, and democracy, the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) voted 7-4 yesterday to vacate its July 8 vote that had advanced an oil-and-gas-funded petition seeking to allow discharge of "treated" fracking waste into New Mexico's lands and waterways.
The petition was filed before the ink was even dry onthe Commission's May "No Discharge of Produced Water" rule, a landmark regulation that prohibits the release of toxic fracking waste to land or waterways. The same industry interests now appealing that rule sought to rush through a new rulemaking to undo it, despite offering no new scientific evidence.
The decision followed a tense public meeting where Chair Bruce Thompson attempted to silence commenters raising concerns about integrity, bias, and fairness in the process. When Thompson called security to remove members of the public community leaders -- including acequia users, farmers, environmental advocates, and frontline residents -- refused to leave until their voices were heard.
The groups filed motions to disqualify conflicted Commissioners and vacate prior votes, citing state law and constitutional due-process violations. By the end of the hearing, the Commission acknowledged arguments that it had violated its own rules and agreed to wipe the slate clean, vacating its earlier vote to move forward with the industry petition.
"The public refused to be silenced, and today they won," said Rebecca Sobel, Climate & Health Director for WildEarth Guardians. "This decision affirms that the Commission must follow its own regulations and base its actions on science, not political pressure or industry lobbying. New Mexicans stood up for the rule of law and for clean water, and the Commission had no choice but to listen."
The petition in question was filed by the Water Access Treatment and Reuse Alliance (WATR)--an industry front group made up of employees of ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Occidental, as well as executives from multiple oil and gas waste-treatment companies in Texas, Colorado, Virginia, and France. The coalition of conservation groups--New Energy Economy, WildEarth Guardians, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Western Environmental Law Center representing the Sierra Club, Amigos Bravos, and Citizens Caring for the Future--argued that the petition violated the Commission's own rules requiring impartiality and failed to include the compelling scientific evidence needed to justify a new rulemaking.
Internal emails revealed that the Governor's Office pressured Commissioners to fast-track the petition, handpick Jal, NM -an oil-patch venue- as the hearing location, and ensure that Cabinet Secretaries themselves, rather than their scientific designees, would personally sit and vote on the Commission.
"The commission made the right call by shutting down the oil industry's push to dump toxic drilling waste into our rivers and onto our land," said Colin Cox, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. "Every New Mexican can be relieved knowing that commissioners stood their ground and didn't cave to the heavy political pressure coming directly from the almighty fossil fuel industry and the Governor's Office."
This vote marks the second time in six months that New Mexicans have stopped efforts to legalize fracking waste discharge through public pressure and science-based advocacy. During the hearing, Commissioner William Brancard underscored the scientific uncertainty surrounding the oil and gas waste issue, noting, "We don't even know what's in produced water."
Today's action to vacate the July 8 vote reinforces that any future rulemaking must be grounded in scientific evidence, legal integrity, and meaningful public input.
"This is a huge victory for the people," said Mariel Nanasi, Executive Director of New Energy Economy. "The WATR Alliance petition was defective on its face and unsupported by science, and therefore unlawful. The July 8 vote was not the act of a neutral Commission -- it was the product of bias, undue influence, and a predetermined outcome. Vacating the July vote and dismissing the petition were the only ways to restore the Commission's integrity, comply with the Constitution, and honor the trust that New Mexicans place in it to safeguard our most vital resource -- water. And it's because the people stood up, spoke out, and the press amplified their voices that we won."
The victory reflects months of coordinated advocacy by community groups, scientists, and legal experts demanding that New Mexico's water decisions be guided by evidence and public trust.
Read the Western Environmental Law Center's statement here (http://westernlaw.org/new-mexico-water-commission-vacates-tainted-decision-to-hear-oil-and-gas-fracking-waste-discharge-rulemaking).
Read New Energy Economy's statement here (https://pdf.wildearthguardians.org/support_docs/Press%20Rrelease%20_%20Tainted%20Vote%20on%20_WATR%20Alliance_%20Petition%20Vacated!.pdf).
Read the Center for Biological Diversity's statement here (https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/new-mexico-blocks-industry-plan-to-dump-toxic-waste-off-oil-fields-2025-11-14/?_gl=1*8r9g7o*_gcl_au*MTAzMjExMjAzMC4xNzYyNzkyNDY3).
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WildEarth Guardians protects and restores the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West through legal advocacy, organizing, and public engagement.
New Energy Economy is a registered nonprofit organization established in 2004 to create economic opportunity in New Mexico with less carbon pollution and more clean energy. New Energy Economy works in partnership with diverse allies to encourage job growth, investment and innovation in a more efficient, sustainable and equitable energy sector. New Energy Economy grounds its work in the research and findings of the world's leading scientific and technological authorities. Learn more at www.newenergyeconomy.org
The Center for Biological Diversity uses science, law, and creative media to protect the lands, waters, and species on which all life depends.
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Original text here: https://wildearthguardians.org/press-releases/public-outcry-forces-new-mexico-water-board-to-follow-the-law/
[Category: Environment]
VFW Will Not Stay Silent While America's Heroes are Dragged Through the Mud
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 -- The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., a veterans service organization, issued the following statement on Nov. 14, 2025, by National Commander Carol Whitmore:
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VFW Will Not Stay Silent While America's Heroes are Dragged Through the Mud
The Washington Post has decided that America's veterans, those who have fought, bled and sacrificed for this nation, are the new villains of these last couple of weeks. Their recent reporting, suggesting that veterans are filing "dubious" or "fraudulent" disability claims to milk the VA system, is nothing short of disgraceful. It's
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 -- The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., a veterans service organization, issued the following statement on Nov. 14, 2025, by National Commander Carol Whitmore:
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VFW Will Not Stay Silent While America's Heroes are Dragged Through the Mud
The Washington Post has decided that America's veterans, those who have fought, bled and sacrificed for this nation, are the new villains of these last couple of weeks. Their recent reporting, suggesting that veterans are filing "dubious" or "fraudulent" disability claims to milk the VA system, is nothing short of disgraceful. It'sa smear campaign against the very people who have given this country everything it has asked for, and more.
Let's be clear: This isn't investigative journalism. It's character assassination. By cherry-picking anecdotes and twisting statistics, the Post is peddling a dangerous and insulting narrative, insinuating that America's veterans are cheats, hustling for benefits they don't deserve. That lie dishonors every man and woman who has ever raised their right hand and sworn an oath to defend this country "against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
Here's the truth the Post won't print: Veterans aren't gaming the system. They are the system's victims who are forced to navigate a bureaucratic labyrinth that too often grinds them down, delays their care and treats them with suspicion from day one. Many spend years fighting for recognition of their injuries, only to be met with accusations of deceit by those who have never spent a single day in uniform.
Modern Day Firing Squad VFW Takes on the WashPostAnd let's talk about those injuries. They are not theoretical. They are not "questionable." They are the direct, documented consequences of military service and include blast concussions, toxic exposures, crushed joints, traumatic brain injuries and the invisible wounds of war that follow veterans long after they've come home. To suggest these men and women are exaggerating or fabricating their pain is not just offensive, it's immoral.
If the Post's reporters had done any honest research, they would understand that the rise in disability claims is not proof of fraud, it is proof that modern warfare has changed. Thanks to advances in battlefield medicine, more soldiers survive their wounds today than ever before. But survival is not the same as recovery. Today's veterans are surviving with prosthetic limbs, chronic pain, PTSD and lungs scarred by burn pits, and somehow, the Post thinks the problem is that too many of them are getting the help they need.
Even more troubling is how this kind of reporting risks driving a wedge between veterans and the very public they swore to protect. By framing veterans as opportunists, it plants seeds of mistrust making ordinary Americans question the legitimacy of the men and women who fought for their freedoms. That is not just misguided; it is harmful. Veterans and the American people are on the same side. We share the same values, the same communities and the same belief in service and sacrifice. Intentional or not, attempts to pit one against the other only undermine the unity that defines this nation.
By reintroducing this harmful narrative, veterans who were already reluctant to file a claim for VA benefits will now be less likely to reach out to VA-accredited claims representatives for assistance. Representatives like Cindy Noel, VFW assistant director of field operations and a stalwart pre-discharge claims representative singled out by the Post, work tirelessly to connect transitioning service members around the world with the VA care and benefits they have earned. The Post's assertion of veterans' VA disability claims being "dubious" will cause a whole new generation of veterans to choose suffering in silence over risking being scrutinized, ridiculed and shamed for seeking the help they need and deserve.
Let me remind the editors of The Washington Post of something they seem to have forgotten: When Americans go to war, they sign a contract with their government. That contract says: You serve. You sacrifice. And when you come home broken -- physically, mentally or spiritually -- your nation will take care of you. That is not a suggestion. That is a sacred obligation. It is the cost of freedom. Maybe the Post should consider that before scheming to exploit the plight of service men and women to squeeze more paid subscriptions out of their readers.
To accuse veterans of "milking" the system is to accuse them of betraying that contract. But they are not the ones breaking faith. The Post is. The real betrayal lies in questioning the legitimacy of those who've already paid the highest price imaginable.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars will not stay silent while America's heroes are dragged through the mud by the suspicion and misinformation of armchair cynics and data manipulators. We will absolutely stand up to anyone who tries to discredit our VA-accredited claims representatives. If The Washington Post wants to expose fraud, it should start with the broken promises and bureaucratic neglect that plague the VA, not with the veterans who depend on it. The problem to fix is not the integrity of our veterans, it's the inefficiency and delay that too often define the system meant to serve them.
Our veterans do not owe America another thing. America owes them. It is time to stop the slander, stop the suspicion and start honoring the only contract that truly matters -- the one written in sacrifice, sealed in blood and signed in service to the United States of America.
It's time to Honor the Contract.
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Original text here: https://www.vfw.org/media-and-events/latest-releases/archives/2025/11/vfw-will-not-stay-silent-while-americas-heroes-are-dragged-through-the-mud
[Category: National Defense]
Nesbitt, GOP Beg Trump Administration to Help Rig 2026 Election
LANSING, Michigan, Nov. 15 -- 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:
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Nesbitt, GOP Beg Trump Administration to Help Rig 2026 Election
Letter to DOJ officials asking for oversight is a faux solution in search of a problem
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Regarding the news that Michigan Republican lawmakers led by state Senate Majority Leader and gubernatorial hopeful Aric Nesbitt are pushing the federal Department of Justice to oversee Michigan's 2026 elections, Denzel McCampbell,
... Show Full Article
LANSING, Michigan, Nov. 15 -- 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:
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Nesbitt, GOP Beg Trump Administration to Help Rig 2026 Election
Letter to DOJ officials asking for oversight is a faux solution in search of a problem
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Regarding the news that Michigan Republican lawmakers led by state Senate Majority Leader and gubernatorial hopeful Aric Nesbitt are pushing the federal Department of Justice to oversee Michigan's 2026 elections, Denzel McCampbell,managing director of Progress Michigan, issued the following statement:
"If Aric Nesbitt and Michigan Republicans had any sense of how our elections are run, then they'd know that our state has one of the most decentralized election systems in the country. The more than 1,600 local and county clerks who administer elections -- many of whom are Republicans -- are at the front lines ensuring every voter can cast their ballots freely. There are numerous checks and balances on this system, including bipartisan county and state boards of canvassers that certify the results. Asking for politically-motivated and completely unnecessary federal intervention only sows more distrust in our election system that time and time again has been shown to be safe and secure.
"It's a shame, but not a surprise, that Nesbitt is making up bogus claims about the 2026 election before it has even started. Republicans continue to try to rig our elections instead pushing policies that will improve the quality of life for Michiganders. Michiganders already have enough rigging to deal with when it comes to NFL referees and our Detroit Lions, and we definitely don't need our elected officials to try to rig our democracy."
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Original text here: https://progressmichigan.org/2025/11/nesbitt-gop-beg-trump-administration-to-help-rig-2026-election/
[Category: Political]
National Consumers League: DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force Is a Major Win for Consumers
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 -- The National Consumers League issued the following news release:
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DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force Is a Major Win for Consumers
The National Consumers League (NCL) applauded the Justice Department's creation of a new federal Scam Center Strike Force to crack down on cryptocurrency-related fraud. NCL, through its Fraud.org campaign, has long urged stronger action to hold both scammers--and the communication and financial networks they use--accountable for the hundreds of billions lost to fraud each year.
The following statement is attributable to John Breyault, NCL's
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 -- The National Consumers League issued the following news release:
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DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force Is a Major Win for Consumers
The National Consumers League (NCL) applauded the Justice Department's creation of a new federal Scam Center Strike Force to crack down on cryptocurrency-related fraud. NCL, through its Fraud.org campaign, has long urged stronger action to hold both scammers--and the communication and financial networks they use--accountable for the hundreds of billions lost to fraud each year.
The following statement is attributable to John Breyault, NCL'sVice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud:
"These criminals don't just drain bank accounts--they destroy lives. This Strike Force is a major step toward putting global fraudsters on notice. For too long, overseas crypto-investment scammers have been operating with impunity, stealing billions from Americans. This new coordinated approach sends a clear message: the U.S. is fighting back.
Crypto scams are the new face of global fraud. They're high-tech, transnational, and devastating for victims. By treating these operations as the national-security threat they are, DOJ is showing real leadership. The announcement that law enforcement has already seized over $400 million in cryptocurrency is a powerful sign that these criminals can--and will--be caught. But it's not just about arrests; it's about getting money back into the hands of victims.
We urge policymakers not to stop here. Consumers need stronger education, more accountability from the platforms and telecom networks that enable scams, and better systems for restitution. This is a fight we can win--but only if we work together."
Consumer who have been targeted by scammers should not be silent. By filing a complaint via Fraud.org's secure online complaint form, we can share your story with our network of law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners.
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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America's pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
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Original text here: https://nclnet.org/dojs-scam-center-strike-force-is-a-major-win-for-consumers/
[Category: Consumer Services]
Interactive Analysis: Nearly 900,000 Activities Reveal the Need for Timely Data
NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (TNSrep) -- The International Aid Transparency Initiative, a voluntary, multi-stakeholder initiative that works with donors, partner countries and civil society organizations to make information about aid spending easier to access and use, issued the following news:
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Interactive Analysis: Nearly 900,000 Activities Reveal the Need for Timely Data
The IATI Secretariat is pleased to share the latest State of the Data interactive analysis: Timeliness - Why Timely Data Matters.
This new analysis takes an in-depth look at how current IATI data really is. It examines how often
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (TNSrep) -- The International Aid Transparency Initiative, a voluntary, multi-stakeholder initiative that works with donors, partner countries and civil society organizations to make information about aid spending easier to access and use, issued the following news:
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Interactive Analysis: Nearly 900,000 Activities Reveal the Need for Timely Data
The IATI Secretariat is pleased to share the latest State of the Data interactive analysis: Timeliness - Why Timely Data Matters.
This new analysis takes an in-depth look at how current IATI data really is. It examines how oftenorganisations update their information, how quickly data reflects real-world activity, and what this means for decision-making across development and humanitarian communities.
For the first time, you can explore IATI's timeliness indicators interactively, viewing both frequency (how often data is updated) and time lag (how up-to-date it is) across the IATI publisher network.
Explore Interactive Analysis: State of the data - Timeliness (https://deepnote.com/streamlit-apps/60103a9d-7316-4528-b0fb-12beead3e967)
What the analysis shows
Publishing data through IATI allows organisations to share not only historical data but also their current and planned activities. This flexibility means IATI data can provide a uniquely real-time, forward-looking picture of global development -- while also preserving a valuable record of completed work that continues to inform learning and accountability.
This analysis investigates:
* How timeliness is measured in IATI, including frequency and time lag data from the IATI Dashboard over the past decade.
* What timely data looks like in practice - through IATI Standard data fields, including elements like activity dates, transactions, and the last-updated-datetime attribute.
* What publishing patterns reveal - across the entire IATI dataset, and by organisation type.
Over the years, it has also surfaced key insights from analysis of IATI data, showing how a small number of large publishers contribute the majority of activity updates, and how the frequency of publication can vary significantly between organisations.
At a glance:
* 884,074 unique activities analysed across 1,754 reporting organisations.
* 10% of publishers are responsible for over 80% of all IATI data, underlining the importance of improving regular updates across the wider community.
* 15 organisations provide updates to their data weekly, which represent 11% of the total of activities within IATI data.
* To provide a fuller picture of how IATI data evolves over time, the analysis also examines other date elements in the IATI Standard, including more than 2.9 million activity dates showing planned and actual start and end points, as well as financial dates that span multiple years of transactions and budget periods.
These findings highlight both the strength of IATI data as a living system that can be updated at any time-- and the areas for improvement as we continue to strengthen the timeliness and reliability of aid information.
Why timely data matters
In an era of fast-changing global needs, timely development and humanitarian data is essential.
Having access to up-to-date IATI data enables a wide range of actors to make informed, evidence-based decisions:
* Governments can use IATI data to track incoming aid flows in real-time and guide national budgeting and planning.
* Humanitarian responders can rely on timely information to map active partners and available resources during crises.
* Donors and multilateral agencies can use IATI data to monitor disbursement rates and ensure resources reach the right partners on schedule.
* Researchers and journalists can use it to identify early trends and hold the system accountable quickly and effectively.
IATI's open data framework allows publishers to update information as soon as it changes -- a crucial advantage over traditional annual reporting systems. This new analysis shows that, when updated frequently and consistently, IATI data can fill key information gaps across the aid ecosystem.
When data is delayed, it limits informed decisions. When data is timely, it enables effective development and humanitarian cooperation, transparency, and accountability.
Join the State of the Data Dialogues
The release of this analysis is designed to start a conversation. The IATI Secretariat invites you to join the dialogues to explore how we can strengthen data timeliness and publishing practices together.
During the sessions, the Secretariat will explain how the analysis was approached, including:
* What can tools like the IATI Dashboard and IATI Validator reveal to us?
* What are the common publishing practices that help us understand which IATI activities are current?
* What further information can we learn about the timeliness of IATI data?
The webinar will also explore what drives organisations to publish timely data and which levers could encourage more frequent, reliable updates.
Event Details:
* Webinar 1: Monday 17 November 2025, 10-11 am EST / 3-4 pm UTC
* Location: Online (Zoom)
Registration Now! (https://forms.gle/YBgZhhkENj3BJTTYA)
Recognising the value of IATI data
Although this analysis and the related dialogues focus on timely data, it is important to recognise the value of all IATI data when it is well-maintained and timely updated. Many organisations continue to publish and update information on activities throughout their entire lifecycle, including those that have been completed or closed, in some cases dating back nearly 15 years.
This long-term record strengthens accountability and learning. It allows researchers, partners, and policymakers to trace funding trends, assess long-term results, and understand how priorities and partnerships have evolved.
While the focus here is on timeliness, looking at how often publishers update their data and what these updates reveal about current activities helps strengthen IATI's collective understanding of data quality and the continued relevance of published information, which is also essential to providing a complete view of international cooperation over time.
Looking ahead
This analysis marks the beginning of a broader effort to understand and enhance the timeliness of global aid data.
As IATI enters its new Strategic Plan 2026-2030, insights from this work will inform future steps to strengthen data quality, frequency, and usability -- ensuring that timely, transparent information remains at the heart of effective development cooperation.
We encourage you to explore the interactive analysis, share it with colleagues, and bring your ideas to the State of the Data Dialogues.
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Original text here: https://iatistandard.org/en/news/timeliness-interactiveanalysis/
[Category: Sociological]
As Student Debt Crushes Austin, Texas, a Roundtable of Community Members Gather to Urge Action
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 -- Protect Borrowers (formerly Student Borrower Protection Center) issued the following news release:
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As Student Debt Crushes Austin, Texas, a Roundtable of Community Members Gather to Urge Action
Protect Borrowers and Young Invincibles Reveal New Data on Nearly 380,000 Austin Borrowers with $13.7 Billion in Student Debt
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AUSTIN, TX -- As the national student debt crisis intensifies, advocacy groups met today for a community roundtable discussion on the harmful impacts that $13.7 billion in total student debt has on 378,114 local borrowers and their families. Young
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 -- Protect Borrowers (formerly Student Borrower Protection Center) issued the following news release:
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As Student Debt Crushes Austin, Texas, a Roundtable of Community Members Gather to Urge Action
Protect Borrowers and Young Invincibles Reveal New Data on Nearly 380,000 Austin Borrowers with $13.7 Billion in Student Debt
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AUSTIN, TX -- As the national student debt crisis intensifies, advocacy groups met today for a community roundtable discussion on the harmful impacts that $13.7 billion in total student debt has on 378,114 local borrowers and their families. YoungInvincibles Texas and Protect Borrowers convened the event and provided data on the economic hardship and precarity facing borrowers in Austin and across the state. Together, community members discussed how Texas leaders can engage at the local and state levels to combat the student debt crisis.
View the new fact sheet on student debt in Austin, Texas here: https://protectborrowers.org/resource/fact-sheet-2025-austin-texas-student-loan-borrowers-experiencing-economic-hardship/
The roundtable and new data come as borrowers across Texas face economic hardship and an impending student loan default cliff, the Trump Administration's new rule restricting Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and widespread chaos across the student loan landscape.
"Borrowers face mounting uncertainty and financial strain--and the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' has only deepened this harm. We must not leave borrowers in limbo, unsure of how to plan their futures or make ends meet, navigating high monthly payments and an uncertain, ever-changing student loan system," said Kasey Corpus, Southern Policy and Advocacy Manager at Young Invincibles. "Our local communities' future success depends on young people's ability to invest in their communities--not forcing them into cycles of financial distress. Austin continuously rallies for its local working families, and that's exactly the leadership borrowers deserve."
"Borrowers continue to struggle with unaffordable bills and face an unconscionable degree of uncertainty when it comes to their student loans. President Trump and Congressional Republicans' radical right-wing 'Big Ugly Bill' will force far too many borrowers to face even more unaffordable student loan bills for longer and fall into the jaws of the predatory private student loan market," said Amy Czulada, Outreach and Advocacy Manager for Protect Borrowers. "Cities, local organizations, and elected officials play a pivotal role in protecting and guiding borrowers--Austin and Young Invincibles Texas are leading that charge."
The newly released data also underscores the profound impact of racial and gender disparities of the crisis locally:
- Women owe a majority of the local total student debt, shouldering $9 billion
- More than one in five (20.5 percent) of people living in majority-latino/a neighborhoods have student debt
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About Young Invincibles Texas
Young Invincibles Texas organizes across the state with hubs in Austin, Dallas, East Texas, and an emerging presence in San Antonio. We believe in the leadership, people power, and organizing strengths of young adults, and we fight for justice in health care, higher education, workforce access, and democracy. To date, we have trained over 900 young leaders and reached more than 50,000 Texans through bold campaigns, advocacy trainings, storytelling, and civic education. Our programs, including the Young Advocates Program, Student Advisory Council, and Youth Advisory Board, elevate the voices of first-generation students, young parents, student veterans, and others too often left out of policy conversations.
Our work has helped win legislative victories for everything from community college funding to maternal health access. Through powerful research, coalition building, and grassroots organizing, we partner with young people across Texas to challenge harmful narratives, shift policy, and build long-term community power.
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About Protect Borrowers
Protect Borrowers (formerly Student Borrower Protection Center) is a nonprofit organization led by a team of experts, lawyers, and advocates fighting to build an economy where debt doesn't limit opportunity. We investigate financial abuses, take predatory companies to court, and push for policies to protect working people from debt traps. We aim to deliver immediate relief to families while building power, driving systemic change, and fighting for racial and economic justice.
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Original text here: https://protectborrowers.org/as-student-debt-crushes-austin-texas-a-roundtable-of-community-members-gather-to-urge-action/
[Category: Financial Services]
Alianza Americas: Shutdown Has Ended, But We are Still Left With No Real Solutions
CHICAGO, Illinois, Nov. 15 -- Alianza Americas, a transnational advocacy network of Latin American migrant-led organizations, posted the following statement on Nov. 14, 2025:
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The shutdown has ended, but we are still left with no real solutions
After 42 days, the U.S. government has voted to officially reopen and resume operations following the approval of a continuing resolution that will fund the government through January 30, 2026. The resolution passed the Senate with a 60-40 vote, including seven Democrats and one independent joining Republicans in support, and afterwards in the House
... Show Full Article
CHICAGO, Illinois, Nov. 15 -- Alianza Americas, a transnational advocacy network of Latin American migrant-led organizations, posted the following statement on Nov. 14, 2025:
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The shutdown has ended, but we are still left with no real solutions
After 42 days, the U.S. government has voted to officially reopen and resume operations following the approval of a continuing resolution that will fund the government through January 30, 2026. The resolution passed the Senate with a 60-40 vote, including seven Democrats and one independent joining Republicans in support, and afterwards in the Housewith a 222-209 vote, including 6 Democrats voting in favor and 2 Republicans voting in opposition.
The measure includes provisions to reverse reductions in federal workforce caused by the Trump administration during the shutdown, protections against further layoffs through the end of January, backpay for federal employees, and three appropriations bills, one of which fully funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through September 30, 2026.
While we commend the reopening of the government and the restoration of critical services, ranging from food and childcare support to ensuring safe air travel, let's not forget that the main reason for the shutdown was the lack of action on the high cost of healthcare. Over the 42 days, the President has done nothing to negotiate a real solution that address the high cost of healthcare; on the contrary, the shutdown was used as an excuse to terminate federal workers and to limit food assistance.
Starting November 1, millions of individuals and families began witnessing the real consequences of Congressional leaders' failure to negotiate a deal that would secure Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, as they see their healthcare premiums almost double next year. Furthermore, the resolution does not reverse harmful cuts to Medicaid programs scheduled to take effect next year under Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act - the budget reconciliation bill that also contributed to the skyrocketing costs of healthcare.
It's working-class families, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and other vulnerable communities who are paying the price for the Trump administration's reckless economic agenda. The passage of this resolution couldn't come at a more critical time, just as election results reveal voters' deep frustration with the state of the nation and their demand for real, lasting solutions. Meanwhile, corporations remain the only winners, continuing to profit off the backs of communities trapped in unjust economic conditions.
The ACA was a step forward, but it fell short of confronting the root causes of America's healthcare crisis. Voters are paying attention. Now is the time for courageous action to build a healthcare system that truly honors the dignity, wellbeing, and needs of every person and family in this country.
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Original text here: https://www.alianzaamericas.org/post/the-shutdown-has-ended-but-we-are-still-left-with-no-real-solutions
[Category: Political]
