How do I use 5 Calls? Type in your ZIP code (or let your browser or the app find your location for you). Choose an issue that’s important to you. Make calls! You have three members of Congress – two senators and a House rep. Some issues need calls to all three (we’ll tell you… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Legislation
Your state’s Covid-19 epidemic explained in 5 maps
Vox – These maps show how your state is doing. “America’s national Covid-19 epidemic continues, with the country’s daily new cases still higher than most developed nations and the nation recently surpassing 200,000 deaths due to the disease. At the state level, things can look even worse than the national picture. Public health experts look… Continue Reading
The Election That Could Break America
The Atlantic -“…The worst case, however, is not that Trump rejects the election outcome. The worst case is that he uses his power to prevent a decisive outcome against him. If Trump sheds all restraint, and if his Republican allies play the parts he assigns them, he could obstruct the emergence of a legally unambiguous… Continue Reading
Unplug the Internet Kill Switch Act of 2020
News release: “Yesterday, Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) and Thomas Massie (KY-04) introduced H.R.8336, the Unplug the Internet Kill Switch Prevention Act, which would prevent the President from using emergency powers to cut off America’s access to the internet and undermine Americans’ Constitutional protections. The bipartisan, bicameral bill was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Rand… Continue Reading
CRS – The Civil Rights Act of 1964: An Overview
The Civil Rights Act of 1964: An Overview, September 21, 2020 [108 pages/PDF]: “The Civil Rights Act of 1964, comprised of eleven titles and numerous sections, has been called the “most comprehensive undertaking” to prevent and address discrimination in a wide range of contexts. From discriminatory voter registration practices to racial segregation in business establishments… Continue Reading
Police Reform and the 116th Congress: Selected Legal Issues
CRS report via LC – Police Reform and the 116th Congress: Selected Legal Issues, September 16, 2020: “…Congress has extensive power to regulate federal law enforcement. However, federalism principles embodied in the Constitution place limits on Congress’s power to regulate state and local police—an issue that the Constitution generally entrusts to the states. Congress, however,… Continue Reading
Patent Law – A Handbook for Congress
CRS via LC – Patent Law: A Handbook for Congress, September 16, 2020: “A patent gives its owner the exclusive right to make, use, import, sell, or offer for sale the invention covered by the patent. The patent system has long been viewed as important to encouraging American innovation by providing an incentive for inventors… Continue Reading
Open Courts Act of 2020
Statement for Markup of H.R. 8235, the “Open Courts Act of 2020” – “Anyone who goes to the Supreme Court’s website can read any of the documents filed before the Court, free of charge. The same thing is true for the courts in my and Mr. Collins’s home state of Georgia. And that’s the way… Continue Reading
OpenSecrets unveils new online ads database
“With the digital-dominated 2020 election shifting into high gear, OpenSecrets is releasing a new searchable, sortable online ads database that provides comprehensive details about political ad spending on Google and Facebook. OpenSecrets is tracking over 80,000 online political advertisers, more than four times the number of committees registered with the Federal Election Commission. Each advertiser has its… Continue Reading
A Low-Yield, Submarine-Launched Nuclear Warhead: Overview of the Expert Debate
CRS – A Low-Yield, Submarine-Launched Nuclear Warhead: Overview of the Expert Debate Updated September 9, 2020 – “The Trump Administration has developed a new low-yield version of the W-76 warhead for existing submarine-launched Trident II (D-5) missiles. Unclassified sources state that the current W76-1 warhead has an explosive yield of around 100 kilotons. The National… Continue Reading
Report – Regulating Social Media
The Fight Over Section 230 and Beyond by Paul M. Barrett is the deputy director of the New York University Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. “Recently, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 has come under sharp attack from members of both political parties, including presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe… Continue Reading
How Libraries Can Save the 2020 Election
The New York Times Opinion – Eric Klinenberg: “As states rush to adapt their election systems amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials estimate that 80 million Americans plan to vote by mail this fall, twice as many as in 2016. Because of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s decision to remove or cripple key components of America’s mail system… Continue Reading
