I am pretty certain that there are many people in the US right now who are yearning for — or are desperate for — space to take a breath and not think about all of the difficult things going on right now.
I agree that it is healthy to seek out peaceful moments. It is good to find silence and calm. It is important to continue to hold things that make you happy in a prominent place of your life.
But it is also critical that we recognize that not everyone has the privilege of rejuvenating places or activities right now. And as long as that remains true, the rest of us must allow our sense of obligation to erupt. We can’t stay stuck in the places that heal and calm us. Instead we must emerge from them to be a part of what makes this world a better place so MORE people can have the opportunity for peace, safety, health, and belonging.
Today, I am writing to encourage you to continue speaking out. Your efforts are making a difference. Because of you, the Iowa Senate struggled to pass the Lawsuit Immunity for Pesticide Companies bill (SF 394), which received the minimum number of votes (26) required. And now, the Iowa House is uncertain that they even want to bring that issue forward.
Also, a bill that would prevent the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines passed the Iowa House (HF 943) and is being considered by the Senate’s Commerce Committee. PAN stands with Iowa Farmers Union and all who oppose the carbon pipelines in this state. Once again, your engagement has moved this bill forward.
The rest of this newsletter is filled with information on these two bills and suggestions for actions that you can take. Working together we can stop the Lawsuit Immunity bill and we can pass the bill to block the carbon pipeline project.
Read on and keep up the pressure!
Ten+ lessons for participating in the legislative process
The increased participation in the legislative process has been a positive development and we are proud of the work we are all doing. However, some legislators are indicating that they are overwhelmed and may be inclined to ignore some of the feedback unless some adjustments are made. We would like to share with you some of the lessons we have learned and hope you can apply them so your advocacy’s effectiveness increases.
- Keep participating! Do not stop! Many legislators operate under the presumption that the people need to “make them” do something. Remember: major shifts take time and persistence.
- Regardless of how you feel about a particular legislator or topic, be polite, yet firm. Your point of view is more likely to have an impact if you are the person who maintains control of their demeanor.
- Take the time to learn more about the issue and practice the key points you want to express. It’s okay if you aren’t perfect. But it will help you if you prepare before you call, write, or have a conversation with a legislator. Organizations, such as PAN, work to provide you with materials to help keep you informed. Stay in touch with us so you can benefit from our work.
- Legislators have been telling us that phone calls and visits to the Capitol or town hall events carry the most impact. If you are able to participate in this way, please do so.
- Letters and emails can also be effective. If you are taking a PAN action or an action from another organization that has a pre-written letter, take the time to modify and personalize that letter’s subject line and email body. Legislators are indicating that they might discount a bunch of letters that look exactly the same. On the other hand, many people are reporting responses to their letters which indicates they do have impact.
- If you live in a legislator’s district, tell them early in the letter. While they should be willing to listen to any affected party, those who can vote for or against them in the next election get special attention.
- If you have personal experience, knowledge or expertise in the area of the legislation, tell your story. Stories are powerful. Stories can change minds.
- If your legislator responds to your email or correspondence, acknowledge that you got their response. This affirms for them that you are a real person with real concerns. It also reminds them that you are still paying attention and will hold them responsible for results.
- Remember. Take notes if you have to. When the next election cycle comes around, don’t let your fellow voters and the candidates forget that their record is important for re-election.
- Be assured that all of us at PAN are grateful for your willingness to speak out and make a difference. We see that you care and you have our gratitude.
- See number one – keep at it. But, give yourself grace when you can’t. This work is difficult. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to give yourself what you need so you can make a difference the next day.
Tools that can help:
- You can type in your address to find your Iowa legislators here.
- The current list of Iowa Senators and their email addresses is here. If you take the link at their names, you can find their phone numbers and other useful information.
- The current list of Iowa Representatives is here.
- If you want to learn the status of certain bills or read their text, go to the bill book that is in this location.
Lawsuit immunity for pesticide companies bill
Senate File 394 is a bill that would provide pesticide companies with immunity from lawsuits. This would be true even if a person could prove they became ill or were injured by a pesticide AND it could be shown that a pesticide company withheld information or fraudulently led the EPA to create a pesticide use label that was wrong.
In short, this law gives pesticide companies a license to deceive.
If you would like to learn more, let me suggest that you read this excellent article by Diane Rosenberg of JFAN. You can also view PAN’s recent newsletter for details.
The Iowa House has not yet assigned a bill number, nor have they assigned a committee to consider this bill. However, the bill has to pass through a committee by the end of the week to be considered further. We can stop the bill here. Unless, of course, the controlling party uses unethical methods to push it later in the session. But if they do, we will be ready.
What can you do about this bill right now?
1. Contact members of the House Judiciary Committee
As we wrote this newsletter, the bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. The list of committee members can be found here. The chair of the committee is Steven Holt, vice chair is Judd Lawler, and the ranking member is Lindsay James.
Check the list of committee members. If your Representative is on the list, contact them. Otherwise, contact the committee leadership as shown above.
2. Contact Speaker of the Iowa House, Pat Grassley
Tell Representative Grassley that you understand that he can control where this bill gets assigned or if it will be given a floor vote. Then let him know that you oppose the bill and that you want him to exercise his power to remove any language of this type from consideration.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 515.281.3221
3. Take a look at the Iowa voting results. If you see your Senator has voted yes, now is a good time to let them know you are disappointed and you will REMEMBER this when they are up for election. If you see a no, let them know you saw it and you appreciate their vote. Find your Senator here.
Carbon pipeline and eminent domain bill
The bill currently being considered by the Iowa Senate (HF 943) that would prohibit the use of eminent domain for the purpose of building carbon pipelines is the result of four years of advocacy.
This is an example of what the people of Iowa can do to change the tide. It is not that long ago that construction of these pipelines seemed like it was a foregone conclusion. Now we are very close to getting a bill passed that would halt that construction.
The Iowa House passed the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support (82 yeas to 12 nays). You can find the voting record in this document.
This bill must clear the Commerce Subcommittee and the full Commerce Committee by April 4 (this Friday) in order to continue to the Senate floor for consideration.
The subcommittee members are Bousselot, Koelker, and Knox. The full Commerce Committee list can be found here.
Your support in the next two days could make a very real difference! Look up your Senators contact information using the tools above, and call them to ask them to support for this bill.
Thank you for being willing to consider my thoughts and words.
Rob Faux,
Communications Manager for PAN
Owner/Operator, Genuine Faux Farm, Tripoli, IA
