December, 13 2018, 11:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Alex Cornell du Houx, Elected Officials to Protect America, staff@uselectedofficials.org, +1 207 319 4511
At COP24 Climate Talks in Katowice, 300+ Elected Officials from 40 States Call for Phasing Out Fossil Fuels, Green New Deal Approach
After devastating fires, drought, hurricanes and bleak IPCC and federal climate reports, letter says keeping fossil fuels in the ground necessary to protect public health and lead on climate change.
KATOWICE, POLAND
Reiterating the concerns of constituents across the United States whose health and safety is threatened by fossil fuel production and worsening impacts from climate change, more than 300 mayors, state representatives, and elected officials from 40 states released a letter today calling for a nationwide plan to phase out the production and use of fossil fuels and to ramp up renewable energy as part of a green new deal approach to energy and efficiency.
"As the world gathers in Poland for the climate talks, it's imperative that we take the action here at home that really leads the nation and the world," said Maryland State Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk. "It's time to end the era of fossil fuel production and build our clean energy future together."
Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) released the letter as is a growing initiative of state representatives, mayors, country supervisors, and city council members from across the nation that are demanding an end to the use of dirty fossil fuels that harm their communities.
"Climate change is the most serious threat to the future of humanity, and we have failed to respond with the urgency needed," said John Marty, State Senator in Minnesota. "It's time for a strong, consistent, and aggressive response in order to become a 100% fossil fuel-free society."
In light of unprecedented devastation from wildfires in California, destructive hurricanes in North Carolina to Puerto Rico to Hawaii, droughts, and extreme weather throughout the US, the elected officials are urging their peer elected officials across the nation to end permitting for new fossil fuel projects and phase out oil and gas production within a 2,500-foot buffer zone of vulnerable communities, halt public investments and subsidies of fossil fuels, and move swiftly to 100% clean energy.
"The existence of climate change and its potential disastrous impacts have been known for decades. The solutions, primary among which is elimination of the use of fossil fuels, have also been known," said L.W. Allstadt, Trustee of Cooperstown, New York and former executive vice president of Mobil Oil. "We need to take action now, or we will be condemning our children and grandchildren to the severe physical and societal impacts of climate change and the exorbitant costs of trying to deal with them."
Drafted by state and local elected officials from across the country at the Global Action Climate Summit in San Francisco in September and launched at the United Nations climate talks in Poland on Thursday, the letter cites the increasingly serious local impacts of climate change and harm to public health throughout America from the production and burning of fossil fuels, including pollution, water contamination, leaks, explosions and other dangers.
"The most important job of local leaders is to keep their communities safe," said Meghan Sahli-Wells, Vice Mayor of Culver City, California. "The only way we can ensure the health and safety of our constituents is to end fossil fuel production in our communities, and transition to a just, clean, sustainable future."
The Universal Ecological Fund report have found that climate change is already costing the U.S. economy $240 billion annually from storms, droughts, fires, and sea level rise cost their communities.
"North Dakota is the breadbasket of the world," said Tim Mathern, State Senator in North Dakota. "I don't want climate change to make it the great American dessert."
The impacts of climate change threaten public safety in communities across the nation, particularly in low-income communities. Vulnerable communities will see an increase in poor air quality, infectious disease, and a decrease in food safety which will exacerbate social inequalities.
"There is no single more important issue that addressing climate change for our municipality, nation, and planet, period," said Peter Swiderski, Mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. "This is a global emergency."
By 2090, a scenario of uncontrolled emissions will cause temperature related health impacts of $140 billion annually and $160 billion in lost wages. Outbreaks of infectious diseases like West Nile could even result in a $3.3 billion increase in annual hospitalization costs by 2100.
"Maine has some of the highest rates of asthma in the country because we at the end of the 'tailpipe' of the nation," said Samantha Paradis, Mayor of Belfast, Maine. "We need bold climate leadership to protect the health of the public, the economy, and our beautiful landscape."
The officials are calling for supporting and retraining fossil fuel energy workers in the clean energy economy and ensuring investment in good, family-supporting jobs in renewable energy like solar, wind, and geothermal. These will lead to more sustainable, long-term employment and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
"We must protect our planet through actions big and small to wean ourselves from fossil fuels. There is no greater imperative," said Catherine Blakespear, Mayor of Encinitas, California. "We have the technology to thrive and prosper without oil and gas drilling but we need the will to make it happen."
The letter builds on a letter from more than 250 elected officials from a majority of counties in California urging Governor Jerry Brown to phase out fossil fuel production in the state. The letter contributed to Governor Brown signing bill SB 100 into law, requiring California's electricity to come from 100% renewable sources by 2045.
"We should all be alarmed at the increase in carbon emissions and rapid rate of climate change posing an imminent existential threat to all living things on our planet. We must act quickly, boldly, and decisively to address this critical threat," said Marina Khubesrian, Mayor of South Pasadena, California. "This includes how we power our cars, homes, and factories for starters."
The Global Climate Action Summit that Governor Brown and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg convened was blockaded by protesters, chanting "climate leaders don't frack or drill oil." Following on dozens of events across the country, the network of officials is pointing to community concerns.
"By committing to this effort jurisdiction by jurisdiction, starting today, we will make a real difference," said Michael Dembrow, Oregon State Senator.
BACKGROUND
The full letter and list of signatories are available at www.uselectedofficials.org.
The National Climate Assessment released November 2018 projects that economic damages from climate change could lead to annual losses of $100 billion in various economic sectors. By the end of the century, current rates of warming will cost the US economy $500 billion a year in crop damage, labor losses, and damage from increasingly extreme weather -- double the economic consequence of the Great Recession. The Assessment predicts economic losses will exceed the GDP of many states.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on October 8th warns that to maintain global temperature rise below 1.5, far-reaching and unprecedented changes must be made in all aspects of society, including halting the production and burning of fossil fuels. Human CO2 emissions need to fall 45% by 2030.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES:
New York State Senator Krueger: "As elected officials, our first responsibility is to look after the safety, security, and health of the people we represent. There is no question that climate change is the greatest threat to our constituents' well-being, not to mention our economy and the very stability of our civilization. When it comes to tackling climate change, the question is not how much we've done compared to others, but whether what we have done matches what science tells us is necessary. The time has come to make commitments that are bold yet entirely realistic, to safeguard a livable climate for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren."
"Scientific studies overwhelmingly agree on the terrible consequences that climate change will produce if we don't drastically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels," said Michael Yantachka, Vermont State Representative. "We can't wait any longer to take action that should have been taken a decade ago. The time is now."
"With the most intense wildfires in history preceded by a long drought, climate change cannot be denied in California," said Eduardo Martinez, Councilmember in Richmond, California, home of the large Chevron oil refinery. "These extreme weather events will continue to increase if we do not act now to lower carbon emissions."
"Climate change is the top threat to our safety, our infrastructure, our way of life," said Patrick Wojahn, Mayor of College Park, Maryland. "It's time to stop talking about it and start taking bold actions to do something about it."
Tim Goodrich, Councilmember in Torrance, California said, "As a military veteran of the conflicts in the Middle East, the threat of climate change is about more than the air we breathe, it's also a threat to our national security."
Paul Feiner, Town Supervisor, Greenburgh, New York, "I am pleased that officials at every level of government are joining forces and fighting to take action to preserve our planet. IF we don't act now the quality of life for our children, grandchildren and their children will be greatly reduced. We must act now. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It's a planet issue."
"Wisconsin is feeling the effects of climate change in force when in August we saw historic, catastrophic flooding across the state, costing at least $44 million -- a financial burden that Wisconsinites will bear for decades to come," said Kate Beaton, Councilmember in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. "Wisconsin families are still mourning this tragedy and we owe it to them to take this as a wakeup call and act on climate change right now."
"With the undeniable and devastating effects of fire, flood and record breaking heat, we can do longer be idle while the federal government closes its eyes to real science on climate change," said J.R. Roberts, Mayor Pro Tem of Palm Springs, California. "If we don't act locally and soon, there may not be a world for our children to fight for."
"We are at a climate crossroads. Failure to act now will have disastrous consequences for our planet and society," said Jesse Arreguin, Mayor of Berkeley, California. "I am proud to stand with countless other elected officials in promoting strong environmental policy while urging others to follow our lead. We cannot settle for anything less."
Josh Mandelbaum, Councilmember, Des Moines Iowa, "Our communities are increasingly impacted by severe weather events from floods to droughts. We must act. We can be part of the solution by leading the transition to a clean energy economy and creating local jobs."
Nicola Armacost, Trustee, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, "Federal, state and local elected officials have a moral obligation to support efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We owe it to our children, our grandchildren and the generations to come."
William Reinhardt, County Legislator, Bethlehem Albany County, New York, "This is the underlying challenge of our time. Can humanity come together and cooperate at all levels of government to avert climate disaster?"
"If we are serious about addressing climate change then we need to be serious about drafting policies that mandate the phase-out of fossil fuels," said Daniel Lee, Councilmember in Culver City, California. "Anything less is window dressing on the porthole of a sinking ship."
Gary Koutnik, County Representative, Otsego County, New York, "It's time to stop playing nice. This is an emergency of historic proportions."
J.R. Roberts, Mayor Pro Tem, Palm Springs, California, "With the undeniable and devastating effects of fire, flood and record breaking heat, we can do longer be idle while the federal government closes it's eyes to real science on climate change. If we don't act locally and soon, there may not be a world for our children to fight for."
John Rizzo, Trustee of Community College Board, San Francisco, California, "Climate change will affect everyone on earth, and is already affecting millions right now. We must get serious about ending the burning of fossil fuels."
Share Horne, Councilmember, Laguna Woods, CA "This is the most critical issue for humans and animals living on this planet."
Carmen Ramirez, Mayor Pro Tem, Oxnard, California, "Future generations will praise or condemn us. Our legacy will be the health of the planet and all of its residents...or the dire consequences we clearly see coming if we have failed to do everything in our power to keep the world safe.""
Manna Jo Greene, Ulster County Legislator, New York, "The global climate crisis is the most pressing issue we face. By working together, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel and other sources and rapidly transition to a renewable energy economy, with storage and efficiency. We must also protect our farms, forests, wetlands and oceans, that can draw down carbon and other greenhouse gasses and safely store them out of harm's way. By urgently preventing emissions and protecting ecosystems that sequester carbon, we can actually return the Earth back into balance. Climate solutions are here -- we just need the personal and political will to implement them. Given the recent IPCC report, we have 11 years to do so. This is therefore the most urgent and important work we can be doing for our constituents and for future generations."
Eduardo Martinez, Councilmember, Richmond, California,"With the most intense wild fires ever preceded by a long drought, climate change cannot be denied in California. These extreme weather events will increase if we do not act now to lower carbon emissions."
Frank Crawford, Vice President School Board, Marysvilla Joint Unified School District, California, "After working with various groups for the Camp Fire that destroyed the city of Paradise Calif. I am convinced that climate change, combined with other factors, contributed in the total devastation of a city I once lived and interned in while attending CSUChico. This is now the time for change. Thank You."
Meghan Kallman, Councilmember, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, ""Climate change is among the gravest threats facing not just our nation, but the entire globe. As a municipal official, I am deeply concerned about the ways that negative consequences will be experienced first in cities, including in mine. In Rhode Island, we are susceptible to flooding and hurricane damage, heat waves, and are running a grave risk of overtaxing our already-taxed infrastructure (including water and sewers). Our generation needs to step up to the plate and tackle this aggressively; we owe it to future generations to do so"."
Brandi Merolla, Councilmember, Tusten, New York, "The time to eliminate fossil fuel use is now and the time to embrace renewable energy is now. There is no Planet B!"
Roseann Torres, Director, Oakland Board of Education, California, "We must do all we can now to protect our environment for the future generations. Kids are most affected who are poor and begin school behind their peers as a result which has lifelong negative effects."
Barry Beck, Assessor, Mono, California, "It was recently announced that we had another record-breaking year for the release of carbon into the atmosphere, at over 37 billion tons. We have a lot less time than most people think to solve this problem that is currently on pace to lead to the 6th great extinction."
Debora Fudge, Councilmember in Windsor California, "Climate change is the most difficult challenge facing us. Our future is in peril."
Marina Khubesrian, Mayor of South Pasadena, California, "We should all be alarmed at the increase in carbon emissions and rapid rate of climate change posing an imminent existential threat to all living things on our planet. We must act quickly, boldly, and decisively to address this critical threat. If the planet were a patient exhibiting such dangerous vital signs, we would have her in the Critical Care Unit with a team of specialists working around the clock to save her life. We need to tap experts in Motivational Behavior Change to help our institutions overcome denial, resistance, ambivalence and inertia to move us into action on all fronts of sustainability. This includes how we power our cars, homes, and factories for starters.
Jan Pepper, Vice Mayor, Los Altos, California,"Combating climate change is essential for the survival of our planet. We all need to come together to make this happen."
Phillip Stoddard, Mayor of South Miami, Florida, "Coastal areas are going underwater, agriculture is failing, fires are raging, the oceans are dying, insects are disappearing. Think maybe we should do something different?"
Christy Holstege, Councilmember in Palm Springs, California, "As California, our nation, and the world face the devastating damage ravaged by extreme weather events caused by climate change, like the forest fires that destroyed parts of California last month, we need to call for bold leadership to achieve 100% clean energy to protect our environment. As a millennial city councilmember for the City of Palm Springs, I know we need to take urgent action now to protect our planet for generations so that we can all enjoy safe, healthy, and equitable futures.""
Nicholas Josefowitz, BART Director, San Francisco, California, "Climate change has already started to wreck havoc on our communities. We all need to step up, take responsibility for our future, and act decisively to eliminate the carbon pollution we are responsible for. That's why I led BART to become the first transit agency in the country to be powered by 100% renewables - creating good green jobs and saving money in the process. And that's why I'm urging all other governments - big or small - to do the same.""
Stephen Houlahan, Councilmember in Santee, California, "The time has come for the leaders of the Earth to create a sustainable economic model that accounts for the financial impacts of climate change."
Rebecca Kaplan, Councilmember at large, Oakland, California, ""As the city-wide elected representative of the people of Oakland, I know that some of our most struggling communities have the most to lose from the impacts of climate change and pollution. Oakland suffers a huge disproportionate share of asthma and other negative environmental impacts, and, as climate change worsens, it threatens to worsen injustice also. We must all take stronger action to protect our communities, including the most vulnerable!""
Kelly Kent, School board vice president, Culver City, California, "In Culver City, CA, our most sensitive receptors are subject to the harmful impacts of both conventional and unconventional oil drilling as we are smack in the middle of our nation's largest urban oil field. I emphatically call on this planet's political leaders to act like every child is their own, and to move with urgency toward phasing out the use of fossil fuels on behalf of all of our babies' health, learning and futures.""
Danielle Adams, Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, Durham, North Carolina "Younger generations are looking to us for answers on why we aren't doing more to preserve their future. The most vulnerable among us are looking to us for answers on why we aren't fighting for the lives that are being lost today because of the impacts of climate change. When future generations look back on us how will we be judged? How can we continue knowing the real costs ahead of us and do nothing. Their are people in my community who are dying because of our inaction. The time to act isn't now -- the time to act was decades ago and we missed the mark. Now we have to do ALL that we can to save lives, adapt to the changing world around us and preserve whatever we can of the future. We have no choice but to act."
Jeannine Pearce, City Councilmember, Long Beach (District 2), California "This is an issue that affects our communities not only physically , but it creates a financial burden to local municipalities. Without taking strategic steps to have clean energy, the increase of impacts will continue. I am proud to be part of a city that is currently working towards making Long Beach be a 100 % clean energy and environmentally sustainable city through policies such as our Clean Air Action Plan, Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility among others. Without a strong leadership in climate change, many green projects will not be implemented. I urge your support in taking care of our environment and most importantly our constituents. "
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
LATEST NEWS
Cutting Off Lifeline for Starving Gazans, Israel Seizes Control of Rafah Crossing
"This has devastating impacts for the people of Gaza who are already on the verge of famine," said the UNRWA's director of planning.
May 07, 2024
With tanks and ground forces, the Israeli military seized control of the Gaza side of Rafah's border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, cutting off a critical humanitarian aid route as much of the enclave's population faces imminent famine.
Israel's takeover of the Rafah crossing came hours after the country's military ordered more than 100,000 people in the southern Gaza city to evacuate ahead of a ground assault, which is moving forward after the right-wing Israeli government rejected a cease-fire proposal accepted by Hamas. Cease-fire negotiations mediated by Egypt and Qatar are expected to continue in the coming days.
Video footage posted to social media shows an Israeli tank running over a Gaza sign as Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday.
Israeli tank bulldozers Gaza sign as Israeli army captures Rafah crossing this morning.
pic.twitter.com/JNnAXKeW9h
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) May 7, 2024
Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud said the Israeli military is "cutting off the only lifeline right now to the people in Gaza, particularly for the 1.5 million displaced Palestinians here in Rafah."
The Rafah crossing is closed, cutting off the life line for 1.5m people crammed into this tiny piece of land right at the southern end of the Gaza strip.
Hani Mahmoud reporting from Rafah. pic.twitter.com/kPeImrntDj
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 7, 2024
Two key humanitarian aid routes—the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings—have been shut down for days as the Israeli military plows ahead with its Rafah assault in the face of international outrage. More than 600,000 children are currently living in Rafah, and aid organizations say Israel has no credible plan to protect them.
Overnight, Israel launched deadly airstrikes in Rafah, describing its military operation in the overcrowded city as "very precise." One resident
toldReuters that the Israeli strikes killed his wife and children.
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, toldThe Associated Press that Israeli authorities have denied the agency access to the Rafah crossing.
A lasting shutdown of the route, Laerke warned, "will plunge this crisis into unprecedented levels of need, including the very real possibility of a famine." He added that Israel's military is "ignoring all warnings about what this could mean for civilians and for the humanitarian operation across the Gaza Strip."
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, the director of planning at the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)—the most important aid organization operating in Gaza—said the closure of the Rafah crossing is having "catastrophic impacts on everyone in Gaza."
"Since October, this has been the main entry point of goods coming into Gaza," said Sam Rose. "There has only been a trickle of goods coming in, and since Sunday the crossing has been closed completely. And this has devastating impacts for the people of Gaza who are already on the verge of famine."
"No aid coming in means no aid distributed after a couple of days," Rose continued. "And equally importantly, Rafah and Kerem Shalom are the only entry points for fuel in Gaza, so without the fuel there's no ability for trucks to move around, there's no ability for desalination plants to operate and provide safe water, there's no electricity. It cuts off everything. Rafah and Kerem Shalom—they're the lifeblood for the small amount of goods that have been coming into Gaza since October, so absolutely devastating."
"Absolutely devastating"
This morning the IDF have seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, and Sam Rose from UNRWA explains what it means now that the crossing is closed. pic.twitter.com/iC1w8AWnt5
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 7, 2024
Laerke of the U.N. humanitarian affairs office said that cutting off the supply of fuel to Gaza for an extended period of time "would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave."
Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement that "more attacks on what is now the primary humanitarian hub in the Gaza strip are not the answer."
"First and foremost, there must be a cease-fire. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow freely and at scale. And the hostages and those arbitrarily detained must be released at once," said Türk. "Those that elect to flout international humanitarian law and international human rights law must be held to account."
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Trustee Reports Show Medicare, Social Security Must Be Defended From Trump
"The future of these earned benefit programs depends on who is elected this fall—both as president and to Congress," said one campaigner.
May 06, 2024
Advocacy groups, congressional Democrats, and U.S. President Joe Biden's reelection campaign on Monday pointed to new government reports on Medicare and Social Security as proof that the key programs must be protected from Republican attacks.
The annual trustee reports show that Social Security is projected to be fully funded until 2035, a year later than previously thought, while Medicare is expected to be fully funded until 2036, five years beyond the earlier projection.
Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee to face Biden in November, "proposed cutting Social Security and Medicare every year he was in office, he's said repeatedly he would cut them, his allies openly plan to target them, and just this weekend he dismissed them as bribes," noted James Singer, a spokesperson for the Democrat's campaign.
"Let's be clear, Donald Trump will steal the hard-earned Social Security and Medicare benefits Americans have been paying into their entire lives and he'll use it to fund tax cuts for rich people like him," Singer warned. "President Biden keeps his promises. He has and will continue to protect Social Security and Medicare from MAGA Republican efforts to cut them—Donald Trump won't."
"No doubt we will hear cries from so-called 'fiscal conservatives' that Social Security is going 'bankrupt,' supposedly requiring Draconian measures—which couldn't be further than the truth."
Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, said Monday that "current and future American retirees should feel confident about both Medicare and Social Security, which [are] stronger due to the robust economy under President Biden. But the future of these earned benefit programs depends on who is elected this fall—both as president and to Congress."
Fiesta highlighted that Biden's latest budget "calls for strengthening" the programs whereas Trump recently said that "there is a lot you can do... in terms of cutting" them and "the Republican Study Committee (RSC), which includes around 80% of House Republicans, stands ready to make cuts as well."
Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, similarly declared that "today's report shows that our Social Security system is benefiting from the Biden economy. Due to robust job growth, low unemployment, and rising wages, more people than ever are contributing to Social Security and earning its needed protections."
"That said, Congress should take action sooner rather than later to ensure that Social Security can pay full benefits for generations to come, along with expanding Social Security's modest benefits," she argued, noting various plans from Democrats in Congress that "are paid for by requiring millionaires and billionaires to contribute more of their fair share."
Unlike Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C., "Republicans want to cut benefits despite overwhelming opposition from the American people," Altman said of federal lawmakers and the former president. Additionally, "Trump plans to sharply restrict immigration. This would harm Social Security by reducing the number of workers paying in."
"The United States is the wealthiest nation on Earth at the wealthiest moment in our history. We can use that wealth to protect and expand Social Security, or to provide yet more tax handouts to billionaires," she concluded. "This report is a reminder that the next decade is a crucial one for Social Security's future. Americans should vote accordingly this November."
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, also asserted that "Congress must act NOW to strengthen Social Security for the 67 million Americans who depend on it. We cannot afford to wait to take action until the trust fund is mere months from insolvency, as Congress did in 1983."
According to Richtman:
No doubt we will hear cries from so-called 'fiscal conservatives' that Social Security is going 'bankrupt,' supposedly requiring Draconian measures—which couldn't be further than the truth. Revenue always will flow into Social Security from workers' payroll contributions, so the program will never be 'broke.' But no one wants seniors to suffer an automatic 17% benefit cut in 2035, so Congress must act deliberately, but not recklessly. A bad deal driven by cuts to earned benefits could be worse than no deal at all.
We strongly support revenue-side solutions that would bring more money into the trust fund by demanding that the wealthy pay their fair share. Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) has offered legislation that would do just that—by maintaining the current payroll wage cap (currently set at $168,600), but subjecting wages $400,000 and above to payroll taxes, as well—and dedicating some of high earners' investment income to Social Security. Rep. Larson's bill also would provide seniors with a much-needed benefit boost.
Larson was among the lawmakers who responded to Monday's Social Security report by demanding urgent action. The Democrat also called out his Republican colleagues for pushing cuts and trying to "ram their dangerous plan through an undemocratic and unaccountable so-called 'fiscal commission,'" which critics have dubbed a "death panel."
"The Social Security 2100 Act is co-sponsored by nearly 200 House Democrats and would improve benefits across the board while extending solvency until 2066, while Donald Trump and House Republicans continue their calls to slash Americans' hard-earned benefits!" Larson said. "By contrast, President Joe Biden and Democrats are working to strengthen Social Security, not cut it."
Co-sponsors of Larson's bill include Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), ranking member of the House Budget Committee.
"Social Security is the greatest anti-poverty program in history, and ensuring its solvency for future generations has been one of my top priorities in Congress," Boyle said Monday, promoting the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act, his bill with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). "Unfortunately, while Democrats and President Biden want to protect Social Security and Medicare, Republicans have made clear they want to tear them down."
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'War Criminals': IDF Strikes Rafah After Hamas Agrees to Cease-Fire
"Why?" asked Israeli lawmaker Ofer Cassif. "Because killing Palestinians is more important for the Israeli government than saving Israelis."
May 06, 2024
Israel on Monday launched long-awaited strikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip despite Hamas publicly confirming it agreed to a cease-fire and hostage release proposal from Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
The Israel Defense Forces said on social media that "the IDF is currently conducting targeted strikes against Hamas terror targets in eastern Rafah," the city to which over a million Palestinians have fled since October 7, when Israel launched a retaliatory war that has already killed at least 34,735 people in Gaza and wounded another 78,108.
Earlier Monday, the IDF had dropped leaflets directing residents and refugees in that part of Rafah to relocate to a strip along Gaza's coast, ignoring warnings from the international community and humanitarian groups that a full-scale Israeli attack on the crowded city would further endanger civilians and relief efforts.
"It is obvious Netanyahu wants this genocidal war to continue indefinitely so that he can remain in power."
In addition to sparking outrage around the world, the Israeli government's Rafah attack and rejection of the Hamas-backed proposal was met with criticism from people across Israel. The Associated Pressreported that "thousands of Israelis rallied around the country Monday night calling for an immediate deal to release the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip."
Ofer Cassif, a member of the Knesset who was almost expelled by fellow Israeli lawmakers earlier this year for backing South Africa's ongoing genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), again called out his own government.
"Israeli tanks and infantry enter east Rafah while planes bomb from above, just hours after Hamas' decision to accept the hostages/prisoners exchange deal," Cassif said Monday. "Why? Because killing Palestinians is more important for the Israeli government than saving Israelis. War criminals!"
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that "the War Cabinet unanimously decided this evening Israel will continue its operation in Rafah, in order to apply military pressure on Hamas so as to advance the release of our hostages and achieve the other objectives of the war."
Along with the prime minister, Israel's War Cabinet includes Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, former IDF chief of the general staff, along with three observers.
Netanyahu added that "while the Hamas proposal is far from meeting Israel's core demands, Israel will dispatch a ranking delegation to Egypt in an effort to maximize the possibility of reaching an agreement on terms acceptable to Israel."
Reutersreported that "an Israeli official said the deal was not acceptable to Israel because terms had been 'softened.'"
According to the news outlet, the first part of a three-phase plan that Hamas—which has controlled Gaza for nearly two decades—agreed to includes a 42-day pause in fighting, the release of 33 hostages held by the group and some Palestinians in Israeli jails, a partial IDF withdrawal, and free movement in the besieged enclave.
Phase two would be "another 42-day period that features an agreement to restore a 'sustainable calm' to Gaza, language that an official briefed on the talks said Hamas and Israel had agreed in order to take discussion of a 'permanent cease-fire' off the table," Reuters detailed. This phase also includes withdrawing most Israeli troops and Hamas releasing some soldiers and reservists.
The third phase would involve the exchange of bodies; reconstruction of Gaza overseen by Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations; and ending the complete blockade on the strip, the outlet added.
Shortly before Israel's Monday night strikes on Rafah began, Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, said that the U.N. chief "reiterates his pressing call to both the government of Israel and the leadership of Hamas to go the extra mile needed to make an agreement come true and stop the present suffering."
Expressing concern about the then-imminent Israeli operation in Rafah, the spokesperson said that "we are already seeing movements of people—many of these people are in desperate humanitarian condition and have been repeatedly displaced. They search safety that has been so many times denied. The secretary-general reminds the parties that the protection of civilians is paramount in international humanitarian law."
Other U.N. officials have been warning of what an assault on Rafah will mean for the over 1.4 million Palestinians there, among them 600,000 children. So have humanitarian and political leaders, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—who on Monday urged President Joe Biden to stand by his earlier position that attacking the city was a "red line" and "end all offensive military aid to Israel."
Council on American-Islamic Relations national executive director Nihad Awad issued a similar call Monday evening, warning that "the Israeli government is hellbent on using American financial, military, and diplomatic support to ethnically cleanse what remains of Gaza and commit another massacre."
"President Biden must stand up to Benjamin Netanyahu and take concrete action to end the genocide now," Awad continued, nodding to the Israeli leader's legal trouble. The prime minister faces not only potential consequences on a global scale for what the ICJ has deemed a "plausibly" genocidal war on Gaza but also a corruption trial in his own country.
"It is obvious Netanyahu wants this genocidal war to continue indefinitely so that he can remain in power, avoid jail, and fulfill his racist, far-right Cabinet's demands for the complete destruction of Gaza and the massacre of its people," Awad said. "It is long past time for President Biden to end our nation's complicity in this 21st-century genocide."
Biden spoke with Netanyahu by phone ahead of the IDF strikes on Monday and "reiterated his clear position on Rafah," according to a White House readout. They also discussed the hostage negotiations, humanitarian aid, the Holocaust, and antisemitism.
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, also suggested that the Israeli prime minister wants the bloodshed in Gaza to continue for personal reasons.
"Netanyahu does not want an end to the war because the moment the war ends, his political career ends as well. And his prison sentence will commence," said Parsi. "Yet, Biden has for seven months deferred to Netanyahu."
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