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Dear Friends,
We also challenged the Trump Administration’s effort to take away states’ authority to enact stricter vehicle emission standards to combat climate change, and President Trump’s reallocation of congressional funds to build his border wall. But that’s hardly all we’ve been up to. For example, in September we fought for refunds for customers affected by Avista’s unlawful electric and gas rates. We also convened our new Hate Crime Working Group in order to improve the state’s response to hate crimes and protect the civil rights of Washingtonians. In this issue:
Thank you for following the work of the Attorney General’s Office. |
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Sincerely,
Bob Ferguson |
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50th lawsuit against the Trump Administration In our latest environmental lawsuit, I challenged new Trump Administration rules that illegally and arbitrarily weaken essential protections in the Endangered Species Act. Additionally, any endangered species that may recover enough to be down-listed to threatened status would lose automatic, blanket protections prohibiting actions that harm them. The Endangered Species Act is a cornerstone of national conservation law critical to our state’s effort to save species like the southern resident orca. Nearly every species afforded protections under the Endangered Species Act, including 49 species in Washington, have been saved from extinction. This marks the 50th lawsuit filed by my office against unlawful actions by the Trump Administration. This administration has shown over and over that it will stop at nothing to slash regulations at the whim of industry interests, even if it means putting our shared ecosystem at risk. More than half our 24 legal victories against the Administration relate to environmental issues. Every time a court has ruled on one of our environmental cases, we’ve won. I expect this lawsuit will be no different. You can watch our press conference on the case here. For more information on the status of each lawsuit, visit our federal litigation page.
The News Tribune My Northwest KUOW
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Our climate, our vehicle emission standards I filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s attempt to block Washington’s and other states’ ability to set more stringent vehicle emission standards. For more than five decades, the Clean Air Act has allowed California to set stricter greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles sold within state lines. It also allowed other states to adopt California’s standards. Washington, 11 other states and the District of Columbia adopted the more stringent standards. The Trump Administration’s action would prohibit states from following any standards other than those set by the federal government. Our state is already witnessing the devastating effects of climate change, and adopting anti-environmental policies will only make it worse. I will not stand by while the Trump Administration’s actions put Washingtonians in danger. It’s time the Trump Administration stops denying the truth — climate change is real.
Seattle Weekly The Seattle Times KOMO News
Checks, balances and misappropriations for a border wall Our nation’s founders enshrined our system of checks and balances in our Constitution. I will not allow President Trump’s actions to undermine that system by “reprograming” more than $3.6 billion in congressionally approved military construction projects to help build a wall along the U.S. southern border with Mexico. In September — seven months after declaring an “emergency” at the border — the Trump Administration identified specific military construction projects it is targeting to pay for wall construction along the southern border. It announced $89 million in funding for projects at the Bangor submarine base on the Kitsap Peninsula. I filed a lawsuit seeking to block this plan and protect the funding Congress already approved for Bangor. Washington’s Bangor submarine base is home to the U.S. Pacific Fleet of Trident ballistic missile submarines. President Trump’s border wall executive order diverts funds Congress appropriated to build a much-needed new pier and maintenance facility. The Department of Defense asserted in writing that the Bangor pier project is important to sailors and their families. According the Department of Defense, for example, when there is no space at the existing pier, sailors are subject to “extensive berth shifts and unnecessary days spent away from homeport.” President Trump’s misuse of his presidential emergency powers to accomplish an ideological political goal is an egregious abuse of power that should concern all Americans. My office will not allow Washingtonians and our military to suffer because of these illegal actions. We’ve already succeeded in protecting the $89 million until we have our day in court. The federal judge entered an order prohibiting the Trump Administration from grabbing those funds meant for Washington state until February. We look forward to continuing to protect this important military funding. Watch the press conference here.
The Bainbridge Review KING-5 News Seattle PI
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We remain committed to defending the rule of law from the Trump Administration. We recently filed our 50th lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its unlawful rollbacks of the Endangered Species Act. My office remains undefeated in our efforts to hold the federal government accountable to the rule of law.
As a father of twins, I am personally angered by the separation of children from their parents at the border. My office has heard shocking and heartbreaking accounts from these children of what they endured at American facilities at the border. This July, I met with several groups to discuss the importance of protecting marginalized and vulnerable communities within our state. I spoke at the Center for Children & Youth Justice conference about the work my office is doing to combat the Administration’s illegal actions at the border, and to recognize the important work of the Center on behalf of tens of thousands of Washington children. I also attended the 9th Annual Northwest Justice Project meeting where we discussed how important it is to listen to vulnerable communities. The Northwest Justice Project provides civil legal assistance and representation to thousands of low-income individuals. The work they do is invaluable. I joined the Skyline Civic Engagement Group as they discussed the closing of a Seattle-area nursing home, called Keiro Northwest, which is the city’s oldest and largest Asian American senior living facility. We discussed the impact of this, as well as some of the many cases my office has filed that have touched on protections for tenants and homebuyers in Washington state. Lastly, in television and radio spots with KOMO News and AARP, I outline how to avoid scam robocalls. Tips from my office, as well as the Federal Trade Commission and AARP, will appear on KOMO in the future.
KOMO News The Seattle Times |
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