Since taking over as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Administrator Pruitt has systematically and aggressively worked to dismantle basic protections for public health, clean air, and clean water—actions which run counter to the EPA’s mandate to protect health and the environment. Pruitt’s harmful actions go beyond our health too—Pruitt is a prime example of the Trump culture of corruption. He’s under three separate investigations by the EPA Inspector General for ethical misdeeds, including spending upwards of $105,000 taxpayer dollars on first-class plane tickets and wasting $43,000 on a private and sound-proof phone-booth.
Pruitt has also kept the revolving door of industry lobbyists to government regulators spinning at his EPA, hiring his friends who have no environmental experience and consistently prioritizing industry allies and polluters. He is also anti-science, publicly questioning both climate change and evolution, and he has ignored the data and research of his own agency time and again–for example by refusing to ban a harmful pesticide even after learning of its damaging impacts on children’s neurological development. The math from all of this is clear: not only do Pruitt’s actions pose a risk to the health of American families, but his questionable ethical record makes him truly unfit to serve in any public office. He must resign. As CAP Action’s Christy Goldfuss said, “we have reached the tipping point, and it is clear that Administrator Pruitt is unfit to serve in public office.”
That’s why, today, we joined with 9 other major progressive and environmental organizations to launch a campaign to “Boot Pruitt.” It’s time to fight back. Join us in telling Scott Pruitt it’s time to resign, and sign the petition to give him the boot.
ACTION OF THE DAY
Share Your Story. In this turbulent political climate, a lot of things are at stake. Whether it’s environmental policies that put your family’s health at risk or the #TaxScam that has left many middle-class Americans wondering where their benefits are, Trump’s policies are having an impact on families across the country. We want to hear your voice—share your story with us today!
WHAT’S TRENDING
Deferred Enforced Departure. Yesterday, the Trump administration announced it was ending Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberian immigrants. This program was created by President George W. Bush in 2006, after Temporary Protected Status that had been in place since 1991 was ended for Liberians. These protections were crucial for Liberian immigrants escaping the violence of two brutal civil wars in the 1990s. For these immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for more than two decades, the decision would strip them of work authorizations and protections from deportation. The decision comes after more than 50 bipartisan members of Congress urged Trump to extend the program, and it is another cruel attack on immigrants of color by the Trump administration.
Making New Jersey Safer. On Monday, lawmakers in New Jersey passed six bills to strengthen gun laws and enforcement in the state. New Jersey already has some of the toughest gun laws in the U.S., but the new bills will help protect even more people. The bills “would, among other things, limit the magazine capacity of guns, ban ammunition capable of penetrating body armor and require residents to demonstrate a “justifiable need” for a permit to carry a gun.” The passing of the bills came only two days after the March for Our Lives events across the country, and it’s clear that the students’ efforts are having a real impact nationwide.
Another Attack on Voting Rights and People of Color. Tomorrow is the last day in this year’s legislative session in Georgia. But that’s not stopping conservative legislators from trying to push through a bill that would significantly curtail voting in communities of color throughout the state. The bill, SB 363, would eliminate Sunday early voting on the Sunday before Election Day, as well as cut the time that polls are open in Atlanta by an hour. The Sunday that is under attack is a high-turnout day for African Americans because of Souls to the Polls events that encourage people to vote after attending church. And a 2016 study by The Atlantic found that in North Carolina counties with polling place closures and reductions in voting hours, black voter turnout during the first week of early voting reached only 60 percent of the cumulative turnout at the same point in 2012. Similarly, Atlanta is a majority African American city, and closing polls an hour early is a transparent attempt to reduce the number of black votes cast. With one Georgia gubernatorial candidate positioned to potentially be the first African American female governor in the United States, is it any wonder that these attacks on the voting rights of African Americans in the state are coming at the eleventh hour of the legislative session?
UNDER THE RADAR
Education Policy Ideas for 2018. The Center for American Progress has released a new blueprint for progressives on education policy that is key to reclaiming the American promise of economic mobility and opportunity for all. The report features seven key policy ideas, including:
- Provide a tutor for every child performing below grade level;
- Offer free breakfast and lunch for all students, regardless of income;
- Ensure opportunities to combine college preparatory academics with technical training and workplace experience;
- Transition to a 9-to-5 school day to better fit parents’ needs;
- Support, train, and pay teachers like professionals;
- Create a safe and healthy environment in every school;
- And, eliminate crumbling school buildings.