ACTION ALERT: Urge Senator Brown to Vote Against Any Effort to Hault or Delay Life Saving Clean Air Standards

The League of Women Voters of Ohio
November 7, 2011

LWV Ohio Action Alert:

In opposition to S.J. Res. 27, the U.S. Congressional Review Act that seeks to void pollution regulation put in place by the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.

ACTION NEEDED:

Contact Senators Brown and Portman today and urge them to oppose S.J. Res 27, the Congressional Review Act resolution sponsored by Senator Rand Paul, which would void the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR).

BACKGROUND

Finalized in July, the CSAPR will improve air quality for 240 million Americans by cutting permissible levels of power plant smog and soot emissions that cross state lines and contribute to unsafe levels of pollution. This rule is needed to protect Americans in downwind states from the health and economic costs caused by pollution emitted in other states. The League opposes S.J. Res. 27 because it would void these standards and permanently block the EPA from ever issuing similar safeguards. This would put millions of Americans at risk, particularly children, seniors and those with respiratory disease. A vote on S.J. Res. 27 is expected on Tuesday, November 8th.

TALKING POINTS to Sen. Brown and Sen. Portman:

· Ohio's senators must stand strong to defend Ohioans from toxic air pollution that endangers our health. We ask you to vote against S.J. Res. 27 and oppose any effort to halt, weaken, or delay life-saving clean air standards.

· Any effort to repeal, delay or diminish clean air protection is an attack on clean air, an assault on public health and will endanger lives.

· It is estimated that the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule will save up to 34,000 lives and prevent 25,000 heart attacks, 400,000 aggravated asthma attacks and hundreds of thousands of cases of other respiratory ailments every year.

· The Clean Air Act has a long and successful history cleaning up our nation's air and protecting public health, due to solutions like those in the CSAPR that protect downwind communities from out-of-state air pollution beyond their control We urge you to continue protecting public health by rejecting S.J. Res. 27. 

Please contact Sen. Brown and Sen. Portman today and ask for their support:

Senator Brown - (888) 896-6446 or click here to send him an email.

Senator Portman - (800) 205-6446 or click here to send him an email.

HELP LWV OHIO TRACK YOUR ADVOCACY EFFORTS

We want to know how responsive members are to action alerts and how many calls are made to the Ohio House and Ohio Senate. If you take the action suggested, please let the state office know. Drop us an e-mail at leg@lwvohio.org.

The League of Women Voters of Ohio, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Call to Action: Call Your Legislators TODAY!
Stop Backroom Gerrymandered Redistricting

Background
Yesterday afternoon, Sept. 13, 2011, Rep. Matt Huffman, Chair of the House State Government and Elections Committee, introduced House Bill 319 to establish 14 new congressional districts for the next decade. He unveiled pictures of the proposed plan, but did not provide any background data, such as each district’s partisan index or measures of the objective public-interest criteria used in the League’s Draw the Line Ohio 2011 redistricting competition: competitiveness, county splits (preserving county boundaries), representational fairness and compactness. (See www.drawthelineOhio.org)

The plan is for the House committee to vote this afternoon, with the full House to vote tomorrow. The Senate is to take action next week -- all on a plan drawn in the backrooms and unveiled for the first time yesterday.

The bill would result in the most contorted districts ever seen in Ohio. It creates 68 county fragments, puts seven counties in three or more districts, divides nearly every major city, and packs Democrats into four districts in an attempt to guarantee a 12 - 4 Republican delegation in Congress for the next ten years—although Ohio is almost evenly divided between Republican and Democrats.

Call your legislators today to let them know you oppose this type of backroom politics and attempt to steamroll the process without allowing any time for public input.
 

Talking Points:

• Redistricting affects every issue because who gets elected to office shapes all the legislation that affects our lives, from taxes to education to public safety, etc.
• It is critical to have an open, transparent and accountable redistricting process to ensure voters’ interests—not politicians’ self-interests—are represented.
• The public should have ample opportunity to review, compare and comment on potential plans before they are enacted.
• The process must be slowed down, and a minimum of two weeks set aside for hearings that allow meaningful public review and comment.

How to Contact Your Legislator:
• Find your State Senator at www.senate.state.oh.us
• Find your State representative at www.house.state.oh.us

Help LWV Ohio Track Your Advocacy Efforts and Our Impact
We want to know how responsive members are to Action Alerts and how many legislators have heard from member of the League. After you take action, please let us know by e-mailing Jennifer Williams, executive director of LWV Ohio, at jwilliams@lwvohio.org.

Thank you for helping us be heard on such a critical issue as we strive to make democracy work!

About the League of Women Voters of Ohio
The League of Women Voter of Ohio, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.