DC is a historically Black city and Black people still make 47% of the population. And although DC’s 712,000 residents pay taxes, vote in elections, serve in the military and carry out all the responsibilities of American citizenship, they have little say in the regulation of their city; the Federal Government solely holds that power, including affecting local laws, city funding and its operations.
DetailsDo you or someone you know need funeral assistance? Food? Housing? Vaccination transportation? Small business support? COVID Relief is here.
DetailsWhile pressuring Governor Whitmer to relinquish her right to enact emergency orders, GOP legislators continue to withhold $2.6 billion of federal funds from Michiganders who need help with unemployment benefits, housing, and food assistance. Some of these withheld funds could also be used to open schools.
Detailsthe U.S. House of Representatives approved two gun safety bills that will substantially expand and strengthen background checks conducted on individuals who seek to purchase firearms. H.R. 8, otherwise known as the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, requires background checks for individuals who purchase firearms from private sellers online or at gun shows. H.R. 1446 will extend the amount of time the FBI may take to complete a background check from three days to ten days.
DetailsProgress Michigan is pursuing a 2020 ballot initiative that will repeat gubernatorial and legislative FOIA exemptions in the hope of bringing real transparency and fairness to Lansing. They will reveal details of their ballot measure during Sunshine Week. For more information, contact Sam Inglot, (616) 916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org.
DetailsThis has been an ongoing series where Presidential Actions have been parsed out in an effort to acquire some transparency into the intentions President Biden has implemented in the opening days of his administration. For a full breakdown of the difference in the kinds of Actions available, please visit PEG’s article “Presidential Actions: What’s the Difference?”. It must be noted that it is easy to revoke the executive orders of previous administrations without the proper legislation to codify policy. It is imperative to understand that without urging congress to pass bills that support Executive Orders, they are vulnerable once a president leaves office.
The subjects of the following actions range from policy revocations, civil rights, and foreign policy. There are links directly to the officially published documents in the Federal Register. As of the date of this article, fifty days into his administration, President Biden has issued 35 Executive Orders, 16 Proclamations, and 11 Memoranda. Notices have not been presented, but can be found in the Federal Register.
DetailsThe Guardian sees the filibuster as a way for a relatively small group of senators to block some action by the majority. The filibuster rule allows a minority of 41 senators (out of 100 total) to prevent a vote on most species of legislation. This political strategy takes advantage of a U.S. Senate rule that says a senator, once recognized on the floor, may speak on an issue without being impeded by anyone, thus allowing senators to speak for hours to delay efforts to vote for a bill.
There is no filibuster in the House of Representatives because rules adopted in that larger legislative body strictly limit the amount of time each representative may speak on the House floor.
Detailsdate changes have created angst for the political parties and its’ constituencies and placed states in difficult positions to legally and accurately complete their responsibilities. Some states have constitutional deadlines for redistricting and/or statutory filing deadlines for primaries.
Michigan’s redistricting commission will hold an open meeting at 1 PM on March 5th to discuss the conflict between when Census data will be available and constitutional deadlines. Complicating matters, voting rights advocates have said, is that this will be the first redistricting cycle since the Supreme Court eliminated the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of racial discrimination to prove to the Department of Justice that their electoral maps weren’t drawn to dilute the power of voters of color. The shortened redistricting window leaves less time to challenge maps in the courts as discriminatory.
DetailsThe following Presidential Actions reconcile many policies put into practice by the previous administration regarding restrictive, inhumane immigration practices and implement policies to boost economic recovery.
DetailsPresidential Actions on Environment, Science, and Public Health. The following Executive Orders, Proclamations, and Memoranda represent a change in emphasis of the administrations and address the importance of issues that have been reversed or ignored over the last several years.
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