The failure of politicians and energy providers caused immeasurable suffering for millions of Texans in this recent winter storm and resultant power outages. Do not allow energy providers to shift their costs to already suffering Texan consumers by raising rates or charging excess fees. Texans deserve reliable service and should not bear the costs incurred by multimillion dollar companies who prioritized profits over preparedness. Use the rainy day funds to offset costs and provide relief to already suffering Texans.

Our society and our planet are moving much faster than our legacy representatives can keep up with. Being able to retain power for decades in either the Senate or the House of Representatives has led to a decline in bipartisanship, an outright stagnation of any policy advancement, and the least popular Congress in history. Our representatives need to remember that we send them to Washington to represent our interests, not their own. By imposing term limits on all members of Congress, we ensure that representatives will have to make the most of their time, to compromise, and to focus on achieving legislative goals that best suit the needs of Americans.

Agriculture Committee Members, I oppose bill A04611. This bill has broad sweeping negative impacts on many animal interest groups including farmers, bird breeders, reptile keepers, mammal breeders, and more. New York Assembly Bill 4611 (A04611) was introduced on February 4. This bill seeks to ban the shipping of all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. This included shipments within, into and from the state (both import and export). Per the bill, shipping via any “mail carrier” will be banned so that includes the commonly utilized overnight services from major carriers such as FedEx and UPS (for verified shippers). A04611 was assigned to the Assembly Agriculture Committee. Fines can be $1,000 per violation. Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal introduced the bill and she sits on the assigned Agriculture Committee. The Committee members must be made aware of the broad sweeping repercussions of this bill and informed of the many shipping regulations, restrictions, and safeguards already in place. Please allow me to inform you regarding the many regulations already in place to protect animals. Stringent policies are already in place by shipping companies, as well as various federal and state animal welfare laws. First, mail carriers already prohibit the shipment of many animals. The United States Postal Services (USPS) prohibits the shipping of mammals, most birds, turtles, and snakes. The United Parcel Service (UPS) does not allow shipments of mammals, birds, or snakes. Other companies have various restrictions and certifications. For example, FedEx requires that you have a Live Reptile Certification in order to ship live reptiles. If a carrier does allow for the shipment of certain live animals, there are stringent policies and laws in place. These include but are not limited to: Containers must meet construction standards; Proper ventilation; Veterinary health certificates and inspections; Use of heat/cold packs during certain weather conditions; International Air Transport Association (IATA) standards; International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) standards; Labeling requirements; Internal packaging requirements; The federal Lacey Act. Not only are all of these regulations already in place, but shipments are required to be done as timely as possible. When reptiles are shipped, they are delivered to the carrier or picked up late in the day and then delivered early the following day. The travel time is always less than 24 hours, and typically closer to 12 hours. Animals also are not shipped during temperature extremes as various thresholds for animal safety are applicable (too hot/too cold). The shipping of live animals is a serious matter, is not unregulated, and is not taken lightly by either the shippers or the carriers. For those who do ship animals, protections and safeguards for those animals are numerous. I hope you oppose and stop A04611. It is a misguided bill attempting to fix a problem that does not exist due to so many protections already existing. A04611 is bad for New York, the residents, and the animals. Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter. Have a good day. Bill Text February 4, 2021 Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to prohibiting the shipment of certain live animals by postal mail The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new 2 section 382 to read as follows: 3 § 382. Prohibition of the shipping of live animals by postal mail. 1. 4 It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation to 5 mail or offer for mailing a live animal by postal mail into or within 6 the state of New York or from the state of New York to points outside 7 the state of New York. As used in this section, "live animal" shall 8 mean any mammal, bird, reptile, or amphibian. "Postal mail" shall mean 9 mail that is processed and delivered by the United States postal service 10 or other mail carrier. A person, firm, partnership or corporation shall 11 be considered to have mailed or offered for mailing a live animal in 12 violation of this section when such person, firm, partnership or corpo- 13 ration causes such live animal and applicable postage or shipping fee to 14 be physically placed in the possession of the United States postal 15 service or other mail carrier. 16 2. A violation of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty 17 not to exceed one thousand dollars. Each such violation shall be deemed 18 a separate violation with respect to each animal mailed or offered for 19 mailing. 20 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately Sincerely,

Our country was founded on some simple principles, Freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. Since our last president, these principles have all but disappeared. No one is telling the truth anymore and their leaders are NOT speaking out against lies in order to win elections. Let's get someone who follows the Constitution and is not for sale, a republican or a democrat, no mater so long as they respect our Constitution. I am an immigrant, arrived in these United States on May 30th, 1970. I have devoted my life to understanding this great country and live as a good citizen. I've completely adopted this country and I have no other home or other political beliefs other than democracy.

The filibuster disincentivizes the minority party from contributing and participating in governance and instead incentives sabotage and obstruction; if the majority party fails to pass popular legislation that was promised as an agenda priority on the campaign trail, the minority party is likely to regain control in the next election because voters are under the dangerous impression that the government simply doesn’t work, and certainly doesn’t work for them. Instead, without the option to obstruct legislation using the filibuster, the minority party would be incentivized to participate in governance and demonstrate its interest in responding to American voters in order to build a case for re-election. Vote to end the filibuster, pass popular legislation addressing the crises we face, and show Americans that the government is there for us when we truly need it most.

Because Marjorie Taylor Greene is a threat to our democracy & a threat to President Biden & a threat to Nancy Pelosi!

The "war on drugs" has led to a the incarceration of millions of Americans with at least a million more incarcerated every year. Many of these people are drug users with an addiction and punishing them with jail or prison time will not break the addiction, but treatment might. In some states, a first time offender can get 10 years in prison for simple possession while in other's, one can get a 20 year sentence for possession. A decade in jail for having an addiction is not the right answer. Our families are being torn apart by drug addiction, and harsh prison/jail sentences are not helping to resolve the problem. Addiction can be defeated with treatment, not prison.

Too many are right now trying to sweep the events of January 6th, 2021 under the rug and pretending it wasn't that bad. But insurrectionists and anyone who somehow encouraged this - whether they are in congress or not - need to be reminded of their actions so they- at the very least learn something. The savage beatings of police and other Capitol defenders with American flags needs to be addressed as criminal and unpatriotic.

Our Constitution prohibits excessive bail and yet over 412,000 innocent people sit in jail every day, most, because they can’t afford to pay their bail. Excessive bail can cost the incarcerated their livelihood, homes, and children plus costs America $15.26 billion a year. The money bail system serves only bail bondsman. D.C. has proven that a system that uses public safety and likelihood to return to court as a measurement for release work and that the cash bail system is NOT NECESSARY. This change will: 1. Prevent individuals from remaining in jail due to lack of funds. 2. Stop wealthy/well-connected individuals from being able to get out of jail despite their danger to society and prevent. 3. Bring equity to a system that disfavors those who are not wealthy.

Native Americans are the most unprotected group in America. This community has the shortest life expectancy due to the government's ignorance towards their protection. During the COVID pandemic, these communities are in even more dire need of support from governments on all levels. please fight to redirect more funding for Native American communities.

Though President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Trump and several of his allies claimed that the election was fraudulent and pledged to fight when Congress met on Jan. 6 to formally count the votes of the Electoral College. The attempt to invalidate the votes of the electoral college, much less the popular vote of the People of the United States, is a threat to our very democracy. Nebraskans in particular should note, and remember, Smith’s collaboration in such immoral, indecent behavior. Both before and after the seditious riot at our nation’s Capitol building on January 6th, Smith made quite clear that he supports Trump's high crimes and misdemeanors in inciting his followers to fight and move on the Capitol. With ample time between the attack and the resumption of debate on the floor that day, Smith certainly had an opportunity to examine his conscience and choose Country over party. He did not. If there is anything sacred in American political life, the Nation's Capitol itself is surely that. The insurrection on January 6th violated that sanctity. By continuing to promote the vicious falsehoods that prompted the rioters' actions, Smith demonstrated an extreme lack of integrity. He showed no respect for American democracy or the tenets of its constitution, and his representation is an embarrassment to Nebraska and especially the 3rd District that he purports to represent. Smith essentially voted to disenfranchise millions of voters for the sole purpose of handing the election to our disgraced presidential election loser. Not liking the outcome of an election does not give anyone the right to flip the results.

Marjorie Taylor Greene should not be a member of Congress, her Qanon beliefs and conspiracy theory beliefs are dangerous to our country