Trump’s war on regulation

Today: Town halls, coal, and frustration.

Good morning, Jess here.

Today, we share three things to kickstart your weekend. ONE shares a helpful how-to on town hall meetings, including a list of events happening Saturday and Sunday. TWO provides a run-down of President Trump’s latest executive order related to energy, climate change, and job creation. THREE invites you to laugh along with us at one of the most frustrating bipartisan issues.

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Meanwhile, I’m off to listen to my latest podcast binge.

ONE: A weekend full of Congressional town halls

On Wednesday, we shared the new Facebook Town Hall feature as a tool to follow and contact your legislators. Today it seemed only fitting to help you remain an active and informed constituent between election cycles. A guide from CNN gives advice on how to participate in town hall meetings, and Town Hall Project is a useful tool to find upcoming meetings as a way to promote civic engagement. Here at FRAY, we place great value in political efficacy and hope to share opportunities for you to get involved. This week, we did your homework for you, so if you live in any of the areas listed below, consider attending one of many town hall events led by your members of Congress or fellow constituents.

Events on Saturday, April 1:

• Community Conversation in Cumberland, RI with Congressman David Cicilline (D)
• “Where’s Paul Ryan?” forum in Racine, WI with Voces de la Frontera
• Town Hall in North Charleston, SC with Senator Lindsey Graham (R)
• Joint Town Hall in Capitola, CA with Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D); this event will also be on Facebook Live
• Town Hall in Kelseyville, CA with Congressman Mike Thompson (D)
• Town Hall in Manhattan, KS with Congressman Roger Marshall (R)
• Town Hall Q&A in Lynn, MA with Congressman Seth Moulton (D)
• Town Hall in Redmond, WA with Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D)
• Town Hall in King of Prussia, PA with Congressman Brendan Boyle (D)
• Town Hall series in 23rd district of New York with Congressman Tom Reed (R)

Events on Sunday, April 2:

• Town Hall in Philadelphia, PA with Congressman Dwight Evans (D)
• Town Hall on Immigration and Refugee Issues in Annapolis, MD with Senator Ben Cardin (D)
• Town Hall Tour in Newton, MA with Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D)
• Take Back America in San Mateo, CA with Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D); this is a free ticketed event
• Town Hall in Scranton, PA with Senator Bob Casey (D)

TWO: Trump tackles the war on coal

During a campaign rally in September 2016 in Pennsylvania, President Trump promised an energy renaissance, saying: “I am going to lift the restrictions on American energy and allow this wealth to pour into our communities.” On Tuesday, March 28, President Trump took steps toward fulfilling that campaign promise by signing an executive order (EO) with the purpose of promoting energy independence and economic growth and reversing the “war on coal.”

The Facts:

• The EO placed the responsibility for change in the hands of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt and called for a review of existing regulations burdening the development and use of domestically produced energy sources. It revoked Obama’s Clean Power Plan and disbanded the Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG). It also directed the EPA to focus primarily on clean air and clean water. (White House, CNN)
• Trump reopened federal lands for coal mining. In his remarks at the signing, Trump positioned this change as a benefit for the job market: “That is what this is all about: bringing back our jobs, bringing back our dreams — and making America wealthy again.” (White House)
• Richard Murray, a coal company executive who has advised Trump over the past few months about the industry, suggested that Trump “temper his expectations.” He doesn’t expect many coal jobs to return: while clean coal plants are possible, coal isn’t likely to rise in the market in the near future due to automation in plants and the rise in renewable energy sources. (The Guardian)
• The rollback of greenhouse gas regulations could cause the U.S. to fall short on its pledge from the 2015 Paris Agreement to lower emissions by 2025. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would remove the U.S. from this deal, but details about the Paris Agreement were not included in the EO. (New York Times, BBC, The Hill, CNN Money)

Links on the Left by Sven Britt
If this EO succeeds, it will not bring back coal jobs, will devastate coastal communities, and may inspire the rest of the world to ignore climate change.

Reading on the Right by Oscar Silva
Obama’s Clean Power Plan was an unconstitutional overreach. If legislation around climate change is needed, it should be done by Congress. However, the market will do a better job anyway.

THREE: Jeb Lund is a god and laundry is god-awful

Laundry Is The Worst Thing In The World by Jeb Lund
We don’t agree on much ‘round these parts (FRAY, America, the Earth, the known universe…), but here’s the deal: we can all agree on some things. Gravity exists. The earth is not flat. Alexander Hamilton is cool, all of a sudden. And: “For laundry, there can be no forgiveness.”

That’s it for today’s FRAY; we’ll see you on Monday! Don’t forget to click that little ❤︎ to let us know you liked it, share it to bring your friends along with us, or sign up to get FRAY in your inbox below.

From all of us, have a great weekend.

Jessica Hall
Deputy Editor

FRAY is a thrice weekly email written by a team of liberals, moderates, and conservatives dedicated to separating fact from opinion. Subscribe below and we’ll send you a new issue with perspectives from all sides of the political debate each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.