Extra! Extra! 12/25 🎄

Dec 26, 2022

Hi, all, and happy Sunday. Also Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!

This week’s edition is particularly special, as there are an abundance of items on the below list that you helped make happen. Really. You should feel great about this. The bills mentioned were NOT foregone conclusions. They passed, in many cases, because people like you took the time to call and write over and over again. It matters. A lot.

Never think you don’t make a difference. And if you ever do get to thinking that, come back and read this list again. You’ll remember otherwise.

Have a great weekend. You are champions, every one of you.

Jess

Read This 📖

Humanity shines through in a moment of crisis! Lovely.

Celebrate This! 🎉

The Senate and House both passed the Omnibus bill that will keep the government funded. No shutdown this year! (More on the great stuff in it below)

The U.S. Postal Service announced an historic, $9.6 billion investment over the next five years to electrify its delivery fleet. We called SO MANY TIMES on this! Go you!

Close to 200 countries reached a watershed agreement to stem the loss of nature worldwide, pledging to protect nearly a third of Earth’s land and oceans as a refuge for the planet’s remaining wild plants and animals by the end of the decade.

A group of wealthy nations including the United States, the U.K., and several European Union member states announced last week that they will give Vietnam $15.5 billion for its transition from coal to renewables.

Led primarily by solar, China is transitioning to renewable energy faster than any other country. Its shift away from coal will also help reduce air pollution in its smog-clogged cities, benefiting public health as well as the environment.

Globally, the world will deploy as much renewable energy in the next five years as it did in the last two decades. The International Energy Agency says two major drivers for global renewable energy adoption are low prices and security.

New Jersey’s last power plant was just demolished and a large-scale energy storage facility will take its place. New Jersey has one of the most aggressive policy targets in place for energy storage and a goal to reach zero emissions by 2050.

The Taliban have released two Americans detained in Afghanistan in an arrangement U.S. officials described as a “goodwill gesture” from the longtime U.S. adversary.

The U.S. is poised to ban the lucrative trade in shark fins, a move conservationists hope will help protect millions of sharks that are butchered every year to satisfy demand in China and other parts of Asia.

The U.S. Senate has finally funded the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)! You made calls on this, friends! Nice work!

The House Ways & Means Committee voted to release Trump’s tax returns for the last six years. Ahem. We called on this, too.

After years of pressure, the chemical giant 3M announced on Tuesday that it will stop manufacturing hazardous “forever chemicals” by the end of 2025.

New York became the tenth state to ban all sales of cosmetics that use animal testing.

We killed Manchin’s dirty deal AGAIN! YOU DID THAT!

As part of the Omnibus, Congress passed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022. The legislation gives the Federal Communications Commission more authority to regulate how much prisons and jails can charge incarcerated people and their families for phone and video calls. We’ve sent Resistbot letters about this one!

Congress also passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act as part of the Omnibus ! We called on this one a million times! Woot!

And they passed the MAT Act! We called on that too, y’all!

And they passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act! Do I even need to say it? YOU HELPED MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

The House passed a bipartisan bill that requires equal compensation for U.S. women competing in international sports competitions. It’s already been passed in the Senate, so it now goes to the President’s desk.

Congress passed a bill this week posthumously awarding Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, the Congressional Gold Medal.

An AZ judge rejected the election contest filed by failed Attorney General candidate Abraham Hamadeh and ruled in favor of the defendants from the bench.

Another AZ judge ruled AGAINST Kari Lake in her lawsuit contesting her loss in the Arizona gubernatorial race. The court "DOES NOT find clear and convincing evidence of misconduct" and is "confirming the election of Katie Hobbs as Arizona Governor-Elect." Boom.