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The Action Items

Baby, you’re a firework an action item that can make an impact from the palm of a hand. Start your week with these actions that pack a punch with a few clicks, swipes, and tip-tappity-taps on your keyboard.

ACTION 1:

The Ask: Tell the DEA that requiring IRL medical visits [as opposed to telehealth] to fill prescriptions of controlled substances is a no-go and puts lives in jeopardy.

The Action: Submit a comment to the DEA sharing why it’s critical to protect telehealth – lives are on the line. The deadline for submitting a comment is March 31, 2023.

The Background: The DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] is planning to stop telehealth prescriptions for critical medications [ex: Testosterone]. As of rn, community and private hormone providers [ex: Planned Parenthood] provide the opportunity to see a medical provider online as long as the person lives within the state that the provider is licensed. The DEA’s proposed new rule would require an in-person medical evaluation with a provider, which is not always possible for a variety of reasons – safety, accessibility, proximity, healthcare deserts, and so many more. The rule cuts people off from accessing medical care.

ACTION 2:

The Ask: Tell the EPA to protect citizens from dangerous soot pollution and finalize rules around air pollution standards.

The Action: Send this pre-written note to the EPA courtesy of Moms Clean Air Force Non-parents, feel free to swap out the ‘as a parent' line with ‘as a citizen.’

The Background: When you think of soot you might think about a few scenes from Mary Poppins. That said, soot is still a really big problem – one that’s causing disastrous health impacts across the globe and in the US thanks for power plants, those four wheel and multi-wheel things we use to get from place A to place B, diesel engines, wildfires (sometimes caused by unnecessary gender reveals), and more. The EPA proposed a new rule – National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for soot – in January – but it needs to go further and match the numbers ok’d by medical groups. It also needs to be finalized for it to do anything.

ACTION 3:

The Ask: Hold banks responsible, stop bailouts, and have Congress pass the DEPOSIT Act.

The Action: Sign & send this digital letter to your reps and tell them to get moving on the DEPOSIT Act.

The Background: Not to bring back language circa 2015, but banks failing is a FAIL. Cue, the DEPOSIT Act [Deliver Executive Profits on Seized Institutions to Taxpayers]. The federal level bill is designed to hold bank executives accountable when banks take a nosedive and prevent taxpayers from being left holding the bill i.e bailing the banks out. The DEPOSIT Act would specifically:

• Recoup bank executives’ bonuses and profits from stock sales made within 60 days of a bank failing

• Impose a 90% tax on the bonuses of bank executives who make an annual income over $250,000 during the year when a bank is taken over by the (FDIC)

• Direct the recouped funds to the FDIC insurance fund so that it can be returned to depositors and used to pay workers and small businesses that were impacted

ACTION 4:

The Ask: Demand action from our legislatures to end gun violence.

The Action: Text ACT to 644-33 to join the millions of Americans demanding action to #EndGunViolence.

The Background: Last week, Tennessee passed legislation lowering the age to carry a firearm without a permit from twenty-one to eighteen. This week, a teenager shot up an elementary school. In an average year, 1,385 people die by guns in Tennessee (EveryStat) and every day, 120 Americans are killed with guns (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). We can never stop fighting for common sense gun reform and never fall numb to mass shootings and gun violence that scar communities across the country every day. For more ways to take action follow Everytown For Gun Safety and check out their Take Action page.

New On Girl and the Gov, The Podcast

The Longhorns might be out, but learning about Texas politics is IN which is exactly the premise of the pod’s latest interview with Uduak Nkanga! A Policy Associate at the Afiya Center, a former candidate for Texas House of Representatives, a political content creator, an author, and so much more, Uduak KNOWS Texas politics inside and out. To that point, Uduak walked the gals through how the Texas legislature works – its wonky rules, its pay, its special sessions – all the details that create the chaotic headlines that go beyond Texas local news and end up on newspaper covers across the country. Texas gov explainer with lots of lols: check! The gals also talk about Uduak’s day to day as a policy associate and her work at the Afiya Center, which gives a great look at a political career, what that entails, and so on. And, obvi they had to chat about what happened with the statewide races in ‘22 and how the state ended up with another term featuring Lord Farquaad. If you’re wondering what on earth the deal is with Texas politics, this convo will get you up to speed. Hit play on Apple, hit add to playlist on Spotify, hit watch on YouTube.

As per ushhhh, this week’s Top Stories eppy will be hitting headphones tomorrow morning giving you the scoop on the must-know-about, must-give-the-eagle-eye-to political stories. Last week’s edition really had us thinking the team would be printing Trump’s mugshot on a shirt by now, but alas that will happen, just not yet. Alas, things you can do in the meantime: drop the pod a rate and review to help us grow the show and all the #GATG tings (YAAAY!).

PREVIEW: This week’s interview eppy is close to home for one of the two hosts, with the guest of honor being none other than the Mayor of San Francisco, London Breed. The interview goes into detail on the city’s approach to the homelessness crisis, and also shouts out a must-try restaurant. As always, lots of bases had to be covered, from the dire to the delightful.

Pro Podcast Tip: Download your episodes. By downloading your episodes, you’re able to listen to fave shows on the go. No wi-fi? No problem. Bad service? Same story.

Back On Our BILLsh*t

New bills, new BILLsh*t. We’re always keeping an eye out for the bills that make us go YAY and the ones that make us scream NAY. A few recent bills of note that floated our boat:

• Maryland brought the Trans Health Equity Act to the table [we don’t know if it was mahogany or walnut, but one can only hope] and it’s making its way through readings and referrals. The bill or SB0460, would expand gender-affirming care through Medicaid, increasing equity and accessibility to care. The idea is that the bill will ensure that low-income residents and those with private insurance are all able to access gender-affirming care.

• Girl and the Gov, the Podcast alum and CA State Senator Scott Wiener has introduced a bill that aims to protect LGBTQ+ youth in foster care. The bill, SB 407 would require that the needs of LGBTQ+ youth are considered when assessing the ‘fitness’ of a potential foster home. Through the bill, foster homes/parents that are not supportive of LGBTQ+ identities would be considered ineligible to foster.

• Over in Kentucky, Democratic and up-for-re-election this year Governor Andy Beshear signed SB 80 into law, which makes it illegal for registered sex offenders to be within 1,000 feet of a high school, middle school, elementary school, preschool, publicly owned or leased playground, or licensed day care facility.

…and a bill that need to get the boot:

• South Carolina Republicans are playing who can be the bigger bigot with S0627, a bill that would make it illegal to ‘aid and abet’ minors receiving gender-affirming care. The bill goes further than medical professionals and targets mental health professionals as well.

Pro Tip: Make your life easier, add your reps’ office number to your contacts. And for good measure, make sure you’re registered to vote.

Read All About It

A little this, a little that, and little something in between is how we’d describe this round-up of reads. We’d also dub them required reading, but we’re not on a school board so that might be a bit out of our jurisdiction. Alas, dive in here:

• If this amendment were ratified it would be the 28th amendment to the US Constitution. It would also provide equal rights regardless of gender.

• According to the Department of Education 87% of those expected to receive student debt relief make less than this number.

• California Congressman Ro Khanna has decided not to run for CA’s soon-to-come empty Senate seat and has opted to continue working on legislation fighting Wall Street greed. He also endorsed Congresswoman Barbara Lee in the race [and is co-chairing her campaign] that’s expected to get spicy between Dems.

• The Moore [v. Harper] the merrier? That’s what quite a few voices from both sides of the argument are saying to SCOTUS with the submission of more briefs in a case that examines this radical theory that just casually puts the future of elections in the US in grave danger.

• It’s easier to keep up with the Kardashian’s than it is with the onslaught of varying abortion bans - some caused by new legislation, some caused by trigger bans, and so on. This ban however got the no-go in North Dakota, with a big ol’ BLOCKED situation – kind of what we do with our exes numbers.

Subscribe while you scroll, sign up for The Gov Hub Newsletter here if you’re not already on the list.

Save & Sends

Let’s get social. Scroll on over to these posts that popped out to us.

• Michael Scott’s reaction to the City of Philly not having drinkable water would play out a little something like this.

• This post felt like a legislative beacon of hope in the midst of a bad bill spring happening ‘round the states.

• We’re singing, dowwwwn in Bernadillo with this catchy ‘Tok, hitting follow, and suggesting a way to get to 1,000 followers with this.

• Bookstores like this one are receiving bomb threats for holding drag story hours. This is why words matter - and same with legislation.

• The final stretch to E-day is here for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race, which you can get the background on here before you hop into this action item.

• This take on an insane bill known as HR5 is A+. It also makes us scratch our heads on what Republicans actually want for society – no, like when they envision their perfect earth are they envisioning Hell?

• Not to play favorites, but if we’re doing that with Megan’s, we’re going to have to pick this one.

Election Szn

‘23 Candidate Watch - new hats thrown in the ring recently, include:

• North Adams, MA City Councilwoman Ashley Shade is running for re-election. Learn more about her campaign here

• Aja La’Starr Owens is running to be the first out LGBTQ+ mayor of Jennings, Missouri. Learn more about her here.

• Adele McClure is running for the Virginia House of Delegates. Learn more about her campaign here.

‘24 Candidate Watch - new hats thrown in the ring recently, include:

• Senator Elizabeth Warren is running for re-election, which means more clever speeches. Learn more about her campaign here.

• Lake Elsinore City Councilmember Tim Sheridan shared that he’s got his eyes on a Republican held Congressional seat and will be running for it in ‘24. Learn more about his campaign here. Learn more about his campaign here.

Keeping Up With The Candidates

Trumpet noise alerting people to pay attention Now that we’ve got your eyes – well, maybe just your ears with that one – there are two Keeping Up With The Candidates interviews coming to a calendar and an IG Live near you. For anyone that’s new here, Keeping Up With The Candidates is a series hosted on @girlandthegovthepodcast which hosts 15-minute interviews with candidates on their campaign’s basics – where they’re running, what they’re running for, what their campaign is about, and more. The latest line-up includes:

• Jade Harris, Candidate for Virginia State Senate | April 5, 2023, 1:00pm EST

• Gracie Torres, Candidate for Riverside County Supervisor | April 10, 2023, 1:00pm EST

Comms Corner:

Step into the Political Podcasting Game

Thinking about dipping a toe into podcasting? Already have a podcast but not sure how to take it to the next level? Girl and the Gov® can help bring it from daydream to reality. The company’s podcast consulting service is designed to assist political organizations, thought leaders, and elected officials launch podcasts unique to their expertise and target audience. The service is built to be comprehensive in nature, and covers everything from structural design to best practices to graphics, and launch strategy. The offering menu includes an option for every step of the way, all which start with a Discovery Call:

• BYOP, Build Your Own Podcast: Girl and the Gov®’s Build Your Own Podcast service is designed to bring podcasts from the ideation phase to launch. This is built for clients who’ve determined that they are going to start a podcast and need help navigating how to do it.

• The Brainstorm Sesh: Girl and the Gov®’s Brainstorm Sesh service is designed to walk potential podcasters through their moodboard of ideas and help them determine what next steps they want to take – to take the step into podcasting or to keep thinking on big ideas. This is for clients considering podcasting but have not launched a podcast yet.

• Podcast Audits: Girl and the Gov®’s Podcast Audit service provides a comprehensive review of the client’s existing show with the goal of identifying areas of improvement. This is for clients with existing podcasts at any stage.

Book a Discovery Call today.

Social Media, From Zero to Hero

Think it’s time for a social media audit? Girl and the Gov® can help with that. Get up to speed on what needs to stay, and what needs to go on your social media accounts for it to go from zero to hero. Book a Discovery Call to learn more about Girl and the Gov®’s Social Media Audits.

#VIRAL, The Newsletter

Skip the meeting, make it an email – subscribe to Girl and the Gov®’s paid newsletter, #VIRAL, dedicated to providing the 411 on the social media trends, tricks and tips, and how-to’s for politicos is hitting inboxes with a splash, weekly. A sample of the newsletter, which we dub ‘social media consulting to your inbox,’ can be viewed here, and you can subscribe here.

Other tings of note on the comms front:

For pitches, PR, partnerships, and collaborations, and more, send all details to [email protected].