Yes, we should send free at-home covid tests to everyone in America. It’s a pretty simple ask, especially almost two years into a pandemic and at the start of a fourth wave of covid cases due to the Omicron variant. But when NPR reporter Mara Liasson asked if the government would send free covid tests to American families, Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, scoffed.1 Many countries around the world already send tests to households. It’s time the United States did as well. Sign the petition: Send free covid tests to all Americans! More than 800,000 Americans have already died from the coronavirus pandemic, and the omicron variant threatens another wave of infection and death.2, Our government needs to take every possible step to ensure the safety of American workers and families. In the UK, anyone can have free rapid testing kits sent to their home.3 In Germany, rapid testing kits are available for about $1 each–compared to the $12 they cost in the US.4 The state of New Jersey has just begun offering free home testing kits to anyone who requests one, so clearly this can be done in the US as well.5 It is urgent and essential that the federal government send free testing kits to everyone in America in the midst of a new wave of infections during a pandemic. Tell Biden: Send free covid tests for all now! Sources: 1. The Intercept, “Jen Psaki Accidentally Tells the Truth About How Expensive Covid Rapid Tests Are in U.S.,” December 7, 2021. 2. Worldometer, “US Covid Data,” December 15, 2021. 3, 4. The Intercept, “Jen Psaki Accidentally Tells the Truth About How Expensive Covid Rapid Tests Are in U.S.,” December 7, 2021. 5. NJ.com, “NJ residents can now get free covid tests delivered to their homes,” December 13, 2021.

Almost an entire year after leaving office, Donald Trump’s political appointees are still working in the Department of Justice.1 Even worse, there’s never been any investigation into whether Trump broke personnel rules by hiring them. That’s because Attorney General Merrick Garland says he’s not “looking backward.”2 As a nation, we can’t collectively move forward past the Trump administration if his cronies are still burrowed deep inside the Department of Justice. Sign the petition: Tell AG Merrick Garland to investigate and remove Trump appointees in the DOJ! Having Trump appointees installed in career positions at the DOJ is a ticking time bomb for the Biden administration. One of them, Deputy Solicitor General Chris Gannon went against the Biden administration and argued, in front of the Supreme Court, to deny Social Security benefits for residents of Puerto Rico. Another Trump appointee, Alexander Haas, has used his position as Director of the Federal Programs Branch to weaken protections for student-borrowers from predatory for-profit colleges. These cases may seem small but they impact real people, and the longer these Trump appointees remain in the DOJ the more likely they could become involved in high-profile cases like voting rights, immigration, or reproductive rights. President Biden can’t afford to keep Trump aides inside the DOJ. If Attorney General Merrick Garland truly wants to look forward and not backward, he can start by removing Trump’s cronies from his agency. Sign the petition: Tell AG Merrick Garland to investigate and remove Trump appointees in the DOJ! Sources: 1. The American Prospect, “The Trump Officials Still Running Biden’s Justice Department,” December 13, 2021. 2. Washington Post, “Merrick Garland Will Not Deliver Your Catharsis,” July 19, 2021.

When President Biden signs the National Defense Authorization Act, he’ll set next year’s Pentagon spending levels at an ASTRONOMICAL $778 BILLION. It’s the LARGEST war budget in recent history. And if you’re outraged at the disconnect between what our communities need and what Congress and the White House sign off to spend, you’re not alone. But here’s the thing: the start to stopping another colossal waste on our watch happens NOW. President Biden’s team is already putting their FY2023 budget request together. That means we need to make sure the White House hears from us — and that we’re loud enough to drown out the weapons lobby, who you better believe are gearing up to get loud too. Sign now to tell President Biden to build a budget that works for the PEOPLE, not defense contractors and war-hawks.

Over a decade ago, Demand Progress’ co-founder Aaron Swartz started working to make federal court documents available to the public at no cost. The public entrusts federal courts with our rights and disputes; in turn, the public has a right to inspect court records and ensure federal courts administer justice fairly. But the current filing system stashes these essential documents behind a paywall, costing the public more than a hundred million dollars each year.[1] In 2008, Aaron paid a small fortune to bring several million federal court documents out from behind the paywall, exposing misdeeds within the federal judiciary in the process. For sharing information and revealing wrongdoing, Aaron was pursued by the FBI.[2] It’s time for court documents to be made public. Sign the petition if you agree. Thanks to Aaron’s and others’ activism, we’ve come a long way from the days when open sourcing federal court documents was regarded by the federal government as radical — even potentially criminal. When the Senate returns from holiday break, legislation to make federal court records available at no cost to the public will be brought before the full Senate for a floor vote. This movement is gaining traction. We need to make sure the legislation passes. Sign the petition: Tell Congress we demand the passage of the Open Courts Act! Information freedom activists and civil rights groups have been calling for transparency around court records for over a decade. But the federal court administrators still refuses to make these records publicly accessible, even after a district court ruled last year that the courts are dramatically overcharging the public for access the paywall as it currently exists is illegal.[3] Court administrators, who have diverted the revenues for unauthorized purposes, fear giving up this revenue stream. Some federal judges do not want to empower systematic studies of how justice is administered, and have fought the public access movement tooth and nail.[4] The courts have built a rickety, poor-designed, costly alternative to the promise of access for all that (barely) serves their narrow needs, not that of the public. Thankfully, many federal court records have entered the public record another way: through grassroots information-sharing. In the process of empowering the public to access its own laws, activists have also exposed rampant privacy violations within the federal judiciary — demonstrating once again that public oversight is essential to protecting democracy.[2] It’s time for Congress to require the courts provide free and open access to federal court records. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to pass the Open the Courts Act to grant the American people access to their own records! Sources: 1. Fix the Court, “How Could We Pay for Free PACER? Let's Look at the Options,” August 29, 2019. 2. CNN, “How Aaron Swartz helped build the Internet,” January 15, 2013. 3. ABA Journal, “Federal judiciary wrongly used PACER fees for unrelated projects, Federal Circuit rules,” August 6, 2020. 4. GovExec, “The Paywall That Continues to Stand in the Way of Government Transparency,” November 30, 2021.

Removing Fox News and it’s affiliates would greatly improve the mental health, slow the spread of misinformation and disinformation and decrease the radicalization of our armed force members and Federal employees.. The disastrous effect this propaganda has on the morale of our men and women must not be minimized

Regarding ask #1 - The latest historic property scheduled for demolition by FDOT is located in Tampa Heights at 1902 N. Lamar Ave. This property is a contributing structure supporting the neighborhood’s national and local historic designations. It was purchased by FDOT in 2015/2016 as part of its right-of-way acquisitions supporting the now-defunct Tampa Bay Express project. FDOT has allowed the property to deteriorate for the last six years and would now like to finalize the demolition by neglect with a wrecking ball, despite the fact the property is no longer needed for any FDOT related purpose. The Petitioners, together with the Tampa Heights Community, object to this demolition. FDOT has been requested to stabilize and secure the building so as to allow opportunities for repurposing and restoration to active community service. Regarding ask #2 - The latest Interstate expansion poised to disrupt and damage the Tampa Heights Historic District involves outward (intrusive) movement of the Interstate barrier wall along the eastern border of the District. The area of concern tracks from a point on N. Elmore Ave., roughly halfway between Floribraska Ave. and Columbus Drive, along the Interstate’s arc, south, to Scott Street. Members of the Tampa Heights community first became aware of this intended wall movement on November 17, 2021, during an informal meeting between the Tampa Heights Civic Association’s Transportation Committee Chair and two members of FDOT’s District 7 staff. Since that time the community has learned the wall movement is allegedly required to enable a portion of the often-cited “Downtown Interchange Operational and Safety Improvements” (DTI-OSI) first advanced by FDOT in 2019. The extent of the threatened wall movement is not clear as of the date of this writing. The Community has only been told a minimum 16-foot buffer will be maintained between the new wall location and the existing FDOT right of way. The DTI–OSI concept has been the subject of debate and controversy since its rollout in 2019. Community opposition to FDOT’s original TBX project dates back to 2015. Through all that time the TH community has been steadfastly opposed to further expansion of the Interstate through Tampa’s Urban core. While wall movement through TH was most definitely a part of the original TBX plan in 2015, the community was somewhat relieved to learn, in 2019, of the supposedly less intrusive footprint anticipated secondary to the DTI-OSI approach. At no time before November 2021has FDOT formally informed the Tampa Heights community of this intended further intrusion. As of this writing, FDOT has failed to present detailed information regarding its plans, including but not limited to: 1. An enlarged map with identified boundaries that includes annotations, existing streets, building footprints, and property boundaries. 2. Cross-sections that represent each incremental change/change in east-west expansion from Floribraska Avenue to 7th Avenue that extend from the interstate through Central Avenue. These should include dimensions for widths and heights, a scale of 1/8" = 1' to be easily understood. 3. Narrative description and list of options for materials (finishes, fencing, etc.) and landscaping to be discussed with the neighborhood. This should include plans for maintenance agreements. 4. List of all potentially impacted structures and accompanying map. Those structures may be impacted due to the construction and/or construction vibration. This needs to take into account historic structures within 200 feet of the proposed interstate wall, and should include but are not limited to those structures that line Elmore Avenue, Lamar Avenue, Central Avenue, and Nebraska Avenue, Additionally, those structures located on cross streets should also be listed/shown including Columbus Drive, Floribraska Avenue, Robles Street, Sparkman Avenue, Palm Avenue, Francis Street, Amelia Avenue, Park Avenue, Ross Avenue, Oak Avenue, and 7th Avenue. Also, the process for property owners to get their property/structures/houses added to the list. 5. A schedule available to property owners for structural testing and monitoring before and during construction. 6. Mitigation plans for structural damage to property and structures due to construction. What is the process? 7. Proposed construction schedule including a time frame, active construction day/evening/night times. 8. FDOT's plan for engaging the neighborhood in the process beyond presentations after decisions are made. This engagement must take place beforehand. 9. Economic development study which includes the impacts to property value within 300 feet of the edge of the interstate structure. The study should include historic market trends, current values, and five-year projected value.

 10. Construction work plan pertaining to the control of air-borne debris associated with construction activities.

 11. Construction phasing/staging plans identifying locations for staging/storing construction materials/equipment, parking for contractor personnel, routes relating to receiving material/equipment deliveries, routes to be used for transporting materials/equipment to the project site. Petitioners, together with the Tampa Heights community, object to this proposed Interstate expansion. We call upon FDOT, the Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) Staff, TPO Board, and all institutional bodies represented thereon (including Tampa City Council and Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners) to declare a moratorium on the DTI-OSI project so as to allow for a full vetting of FDOT’s plans. This vetting includes, but is not limited to, a thorough study of the information responsive to the above-enumerated items and meaningful, ongoing community engagement. Supporting Links and Resources: Previous Petitions on this matter: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/stop-the-tampa-bay-express

This past year we lost our beloved "Chunks" Amarelo only days after he began showing symptoms of FIP. Chunks was a happy and loving kitten from the moment he became a member of our family. During his first yearly checkup, Chunks was found to have needed a tooth extraction and routine cleaning which we brought him to a week later. Over the next few weeks Chunks was recovering from his surgery at home, and only showed very limited signs that he was in pain. We attributed this to the tooth extraction, and his veterinarian prescribed pain medication. We found out much later that this was not due to his dental procedure and was something much more serious. One night we noticed Chunks had taken a serious turn for the worst and his entire body turned yellow with jaundice. We rushed him to the hospital where they took a deposit of several thousand dollars for treatments, and ran our kitten through countless tests and examinations. After 3 days in the animal hospital, thousands of dollars in testing and failed treatments, and with test results still days away from being available, the doctors began discussing euthanasia. This was all before the doctors even had a confirmed diagnosis of FIP. The doctor informed us at that point that they ruled our cancer, and that even if the tests came back positive for FIP, he would ultimately pass away from the illness. We could not simply give up on our baby, so we took the next few hours to research treatments or cures for FIP. We asked the doctor about Remdesivir after reading about its success online, and she admitted that while the veterinary community knows of its success, its not FDA approved and not something they had access to or could administer. "Chunks" Amarelo passed away a few hours after that conversation. We now know from our research that if the Remdesivir treatment was available immediately when we arrived at the hospital and if it was given to Chunks on his first day there with his symptoms, he most likely would still be with us today. The moment Chunks heart beat for the last time that night in our arms, we realized that The Amarelo Foundation needed to be formed in his memory to give cats around the world a fighting chance at beating this terrible disease. While we still to this day are not completely sure how Chunks contracted the virus, we now know that the most important work is to focus on prevention and successful treatment. This all starts with FDA approval of Remdesivir for cats with FIP, and this is our mission!

More than a quarter of student loan borrowers will be spending over a third of their income on loan payments when the pause ends. These impacts will disproportionately harm Americans of color, who on average borrow more for college expenses than their white counterparts while holding significantly less wealth. The economy has not recovered to the point where Americans are ready to pay their loans.

Los habitantes de las viviendas del Barrio La Granja corren graves riesgos para la salud y la seguridad con la acumulación de residuos y escombros. La cantidad de roedores portadores de enfermedades ha aumentado y representa una amenaza para todos, especialmente para los ancianos. Es fundamental que este problema se aborde de inmediato! Geneva, 24 de marzo de 2020 - "Dado que la pandemia de la enfermedad del coronavirus (COVID-19) continúa propagándose y sus impactos en la salud humana y la economía se intensifican día a día, se insta a los gobiernos a que traten la gestión de desechos, incluidos los médicos, domésticos y otros residuos peligrosos, como servicio público urgente e imprescindible para minimizar los posibles impactos secundarios sobre la salud y el medio ambiente ". -UN Environment Programme- https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/waste-management-essential-public-service-fight-beat-covid-19

PoolCorp is no stranger to the FTC. In fact, in and around 2011 the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-1 approving a complaint and consent order against PoolCorp. In the complaint it alleged PoolCorp threatened Manufacturers not to sell to its competitors over an 8 year pressure campaign. It is important to note that the FTC approves a complaint when it has "reason to believe" that the law has been or is being violated. With that said the FTC agreed to a consent order which did not require PoolCorp to admit, nor was it a finding of wrong doing. What it did do is outline specific actions that PoolCorp has to abide by in the future interactions, specifically instructing PoolCorp to avoid any anti-competitive practices. So PoolCorp tried and failed to Control the Manufacturing side of the supply chain. With only a mere slap on the wrist by the FTC. PoolCorp has patiently waited and now recently implemented the only other alternative way to achieve what they set out to do initially back in 2002-2011. They now are disrupting the supply chain management structure by attempting to control and Monopolize the transaction of tons of swimming pool products from Manufacturer to Distributor, from Distributor to Trade Professional, and from Distributor to the End User.

Recent congressional testimony and the Facebook Papers prove the tech giant was aware of its role in fueling sectarian violence in places like the United States, India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and more — and that its algorithms put hateful and violent content front and center. It’s clear we can’t trust Facebook to hold itself accountable. That’s why Congress needs to step up and regulate big tech companies before they’re able to harm more people and further weaken democracies around the world. Add your name to join us in calling on Congress for oversight and regulation of Facebook’s algorithms and activities.

Our families deserve flood protection now.