Category: Blog

Read about the DC Carbon Rebate campaign from our fantastic student Organizing Fellows this summer! 

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Asthma and My Childhood in DC

Maia Berlow

As a kid growing up in DC, I remember, fairly regularly, friends collapsing during PE class and struggling to breath because the air pollution was triggering their asthma. It was terrifying for me to see my friends like that, but it was so much scarier for them. I remember many days where we could not go outside for recess or PE because the air quality was too bad. The low air quality was bad for our lungs, made it hard to breath and was even worse for people with asthma. 10.4 percent of DC’s residents have asthma as compared to the 9.1 percent nationally (DOH 71). Everyday, 11 people in the United States die from asthma (Asthma MD).  Luckily, my friends had access to medicine and good medical care, but not everyone in Washington, DC is so lucky.

Research has shown that air pollution can worsen asthma symptoms (Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America). Air pollution as defined by the EPA is “any visible or invisible particle or gas found in the air that is not part of the natural composition of air.” But DC seems like a fairly clean city; we do not see a lot of smog and we have beautifully clear days. So where is this pollution that is irritating people’s asthma? Like the EPA says, air pollution can be invisible. When we burn fossil fuels to create our energy, nitrogen oxides are added to the air, creating ozone which is then quickly destroyed. This creation and destruction of ozone is part of a natural cycle, but when hydrocarbons — vapors from fossil fuels– are added to the mix, it adds to the creation of ozone and stops the destruction of it, creating unhealthy levels of ozone, increasing air pollution, and increasing asthma.

I want to stop the air pollution in this city that I have grown up in, and this one of the many reasons that I am excited to be working on the DC Carbon Rebate campaign with CCAN. This campaign strives to make polluters pay for the real cost of their actions on climate and health. Right now, fossil fuels are cheaper than renewables for utility companies because they do not reflect the real cost of fossil fuels on people’s well-being and our environment. If you are going to be doing something that harms people, you should be paying for it. The carbon rebate places a fee on each ton of carbon that the utility companies emit, making fossil fuels more expensive, renewables more realistic, and sending a signal that renewables have no extra health costs. Beyond incentivizing utility companies to make good choices for the people they serve, the money from the fee would go directly back to DC residents: the people suffering from utility companies’ wrongful choices. Research shows that low-income residents would benefit the most from this program– a small step towards shrinking the inequalities in this city (Citizens’ Climate Lobby).

Each day that I am out working on this campaign I encounter mothers who say that their three-year-old has asthma and that the medicine is too expensive. I encounter grandmothers who are incapacitated on hot days because the pollution in the air is so bad. And I encounter hundreds of people, ready to say that they have had enough and that it is not alright to pollute this city for free.

To take action today, and let Mayor Bowser know that you will not stand for pollution that harms this city and contributes to climate change worldwide, sign this petition.

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Movement-Building with CCAN or, The Awkward Tan Lines Are Worth It

Joanna Wolfgram

For many years, I thought that climate change was an issue that only affected the world on an environmental level. I envisioned in the coming years polluted water sources, dead coral reefs, species extinction, and melting ice. As I grew up, I was taught different ways for individuals to do their part to stop these environmental problems. In sixth grade I was taught about the importance of recycling and composting. In my high school biology class I learned about choosing organic produce. Although all of these lessons were very important, none of them felt particularly extraordinary. Recycling a can did not feel like saving the world, composting seemed like too much trouble, and as a student living at home with my family, which zucchini to buy was a matter I felt better left to my parents.
Then, one day in my freshman year of college, I was avoiding starting a paper in a fashion truly representative of my government and politics major (aka scrolling through world news articles on CNN). Suddenly, a particular article caught my attention. The article discussed how climate change had resulted in a record drought in the middle east, which in turn caused the migration of Syrian farmers into cities to find work as their crops failed. The influx of the farmers worsened political tensions within Syrian cities and, in time, the Syrian Civil War, a war that according to the article has cost 250,000 people their lives, began. Before this moment, I had never considered the possible role climate change could play and already is playing in international and local relations, as well as national security.
Abruptly, I could imagine all the ways climate change could result in more conflict and strife all over the world in the near and distant future. As nonrenewable resources dwindle, the measures countries take to obtain or protect their supplies could become more desperate. Changing landscapes from droughts and rising sea levels could cause more mass migrations of people who have lost their homes and livelihoods. Changing weather patterns could result in food shortages and famines. These are only a few possible scenarios, some of which have already begun to take root in our present day society. With all of these looming possibilities for the future, I decided I wanted to look for organizations trying to make a difference now, to protect the people of the world in the years to come.
Eventually, I stumbled upon a listing for an internship at CCAN. After reading about their many different campaigns, from stopping oil trains in Baltimore to calling for a carbon fee and rebate in Washington D.C., I could tell that this was organization not only committed to stopping global warming, but to protecting people who are vulnerable to the adverse affects of climate change. I sent in my application, and when I was told I had been accepted for the DC Carbon Rebate campaign, I was thrilled. I knew that working to pass this revenue neutral policy would be working towards a renewable energy based economy without leaving low- and middle-income families behind. I was excited to help DC set a national and potentially global precedent by working to get this policy passed. I began my internship wanting to feel like more than just an individual putting a can in a blue bin; I wanted to feel like a part of a movement.
Funny enough, my work at CCAN has made me realize that it takes the combined small actions of individuals to create any kind of movement. Every petition I collect is like adding a new ally to the brigade of those calling for change. Each person who checks the little “I want to volunteer!” box adds to the resources of the campaign, even if they have only a small amount of time to give. And it is these individuals, whose desire to see improvement in the world by supporting a DC carbon Rebate, that make every single awkward tan-line I get while petitioning totally and completely worth it.

The summer of 2016 has set the groundwork for a frack-free future in Maryland. Hundreds of you drove to meetings to tell the Hogan Administration: we don’t want flawed regulations — we want a permanent ban on fracking. Dozens of you have petitioned at farmer’s markets, gone door-to-door, opened up your congregations to educate your communities on fracking, and so much more. From Western Marylanders bringing a literal “dog and pony show” (pictured above) to the Hogan administration’s public meeting in Oakland to 88 local residents in Rockville showing up to watch the fracking documentary Groundswell Rising — our movement is growing and we are determined to ensure Maryland’s future is built on clean energy, not fracking.
All of our organizing this summer is aimed at building an unstoppable groundswell of public support for passing a permanent, statewide ban on fracking in the 2017 Maryland General Assembly session — the final legislative session before our hard-won, two-year moratorium on fracking will expire.
The stakes were raised this summer. On June 22nd, Hogan administration officials released draft proposals for regulating fracking, the same day as the Maryland Department of the Environment’s first scheduled public meeting to discuss those draft rules in Cumberland. Residents in Western Maryland who are on the front lines of potential fracking had just a few hours to pore over dozens of pages of technical documents that could impact their water, their livelihood and the health of their communities.
During a series of three public meetings, Maryland legislators and concerned citizens made it clear — a permanent, statewide ban on fracking is the only rational option for Maryland. The Hogan’s administration’s proposals would roll back air and water monitoring requirements, slash safety precautions, and ultimately welcome fracking to Maryland starting in October 2017.
We didn’t take these rollbacks on our health, safety and well-being lying down.
In Baltimore, State Senator Bobby Zirkin told Hogan administration officials, “I am afraid you have it wrong on this one” and at an outdoor rally pledged to a crowd of over 100 people that he will introduce legislation to ban fracking in the upcoming legislative session.

Hours and hours of testimony were put forth in Baltimore City with over 70 people telling the Hogan administration to BAN FRACKING NOW. At the final stop in McHenry, Western Marylanders brought a dog and a pony to the rally to show exactly what they thought about these new regulations.
Meanwhile, before and after the release of the draft regulations, activists across Maryland moved full-steam ahead to ask local elected officials to take action to ban fracking. The town of Friendsville in Garrett County banned fracking. The town council in Greenbelt wrote a letter to their state delegation asking for a permanent ban on fracking. In Charles County, the county council adapted their comprehensive plan to restrict fracking and will be introducing a “no fracking” zoning ordinance this fall. County leaders in Prince George’s and Montgomery County,  which have already banned fracking in their counties, are encouraging other legislators to take up the charge. Prince George’s County Councilwoman Mary Lehman, sponsor of her county’s fracking ban, convened a meeting of local advocacy groups and legislators at the annual gathering of the Maryland Association of Counties to strategize on how we can ban fracking across our state.
Dozens of activists are working on the ground to pass ban ordinances and resolutions in their own towns, building a strong grassroots movement for a frack-free future.
Here’s how you can join our movement today and act locally in your own community to keep Maryland frack-free:

• Get your city to endorse a ban on fracking: Download the CCAN fracking activist toolkit for a step-by-step guide.
• Sign the petition: Add your name to the call for a permanent ban on fracking in Maryland!

Dear CCANers,
You may have noticed solar panels popping up in tons of places these days: on a neighbor’s roof, on a street-corner utility poll, on a farm field near you. The price of solar keeps falling, moving us closer to the community-based, resilient, distributed, and sustainable energy grid we all know we need to solve climate change.
And here’s what’s also popping up everywhere you turn: grassroots energy leaders. Wherever you look in our region, there are real-life, community-based, common-sense leaders taking on local fights against extreme fossil fuels. Whether it’s fighting for a fracking ban across Maryland or to stop proposed fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia; whether it’s stopping coal-ash dumping in the Potomac River south of DC or stopping explosive crude oil trains from rolling through Baltimore – these leaders are emerging everywhere, at the same time.
People power, like solar power, is spreading in our region – and the two are related. These citizens are part of the place-based and resilient leadership we’ll need to continue our fight to keep fossil fuels in the ground as we make the final switch to “energy democracy” based largely on distributed energy that is local and clean and abundant.

Who are these new leaders? They are people like 86-year-old George Jones, a Korean War veteran whose land in Giles County, Virginia, is being confiscated for a massive proposed fracked-gas pipeline called the Mountain Valley Pipeline. George is fighting back. Though wheelchair bound due to a recent stroke, he inspired Virginians statewide when he rolled nearly a mile through summer heat with 600 other people as part of the “March on the Mansion” demonstration July 23rd. The march ended at Governor Terry McAuliffe’s (D) house with a clear message: drop your support of fracked-gas pipelines in Virginia.
They are people like Vinny and Jamie DeMarco, a father and son duo who biked 370 miles across Maryland in August in support of state legislation to boldly expand wind and solar energy in the state. Governor Larry Hogan (R) recklessly vetoed this popular bill in May. The DeMarcos are encouraging the Maryland General Assembly to override the veto. So the cyclists organized the “Ride for the Override” that spawned inspiring news stories in the Washington Post and across the state. Thanks to this people-powered support from the DeMarcos and others, it looks like the General Assembly will give final approval to the law in January.
Who else are these new leaders? They are people like DC student (and former beloved CCAN staffer) Jon Kenney, who has been fighting to protect urban neighborhoods across our region from a rise in crude-oil rail tankers from North Dakota that now roll through our communities. These increasingly frequent oil trains are a threat not just to our climate, but to households and children due to potential derailments and explosions.
Like budding solar panels, these leaders are popping up everywhere – the mountains of western Maryland, the suburbs of Virginia Beach, the row houses of Washington, DC. This people-based grid of interconnected leaders and communities is widely distributed, spreading fast, and impossible to defeat because the roots are just too wide, too deep.
Of course the major polluters in our region – like Dominion Power – continue to push for energy that is based on the concentrated power of coal and gas plants. The polluters’ political power is equally concentrated, residing in the hands of a few executives who, with big political campaign contributions, influence politicians at the top, who then force dirty energy policies on the rest of us.
But now comes the unstoppable force of Virginians like George Jones and Marylanders like the DeMarcos. I think it’s fair to say the polluters have finally met their match, and we know who’s going to win. Stay tuned and stay active. To change everything, we need everybody. That means me. That means you.
On we go,

Mike Tidwell

Did you know that in Maryland the benefits of solar energy are about to become accessible to everyone, even if you rent or have a shady roof?
Thanks to statewide legislation championed by CCAN and our allies, Maryland is about to launch a cutting-edge “community solar” pilot program. The program will get started this fall, and the first projects could come on line as soon as winter.
Sign up here to get updates from CCAN on community solar projects in your neighborhood!
Here are three things that you need to know about the program:
1) What is Community Solar? Community solar allows customers who rent, have shady roofs, or are otherwise unable to install solar at their residences or business to buy or “subscribe” to a portion of a shared solar system. Your share of the electricity generated by the project is credited to your electricity bill, just as if the solar system were located at your home or business.
2) How Does it Work? Under the new Maryland law, you can subscribe to a small share of a larger solar project located within your community. The energy produced by this solar site is delivered directly into the grid and the local utility redistributes this energy among its customers. Your household would then receive a credit on your monthly utility bill for the amount of electricity your share of the system produced.
3) Who Can Sign Up? Anyone!
If you are interested in participating in a community solar project in your neighborhood, sign up here and we’ll update you as the program develops.
Right now CCAN is helping to lay the groundwork by forging partnerships between communities and subscriber organizations across Maryland to get projects off the ground.
Importantly, Maryland’s program sets aside 30 percent of the total project cap for solar installations that serve low- and moderate-income households. This commitment to making solar universally accessible is critical — right now working families account for only a small fraction of all residential solar installations. This makes Maryland’s community solar program a major step towards a more equitable clean energy economy.
P.S. Our partners at Neighborhood Sun are hosting a webinar this Thursday to explain the community solar program in greater depth and answer your questions. Sign up for updates and we’ll send you the details.

I’m writing with an update for southern Marylanders and all of you who joined our fight — and continue to fight — to stop Dominion’s disastrous fracked-gas export facility at Cove Point.
As you may remember, in April the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in our lawsuit challenging federal approval of Dominion’s gas export facility, which Earthjustice filed on behalf of CCAN, the Patuxent Riverkeeper, and the Sierra Club.
We argued that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission broke the law in several ways: 1) by failing to consider the direct impacts of the project on the safety of local residents and on the Chesapeake Bay; and 2) by failing to consider the “upstream” and “downstream” air, water, and climate impacts that would be triggered by fracking, piping, compressing, liquefying, and burning the exported gas.
Unfortunately, the court recently gave FERC a free pass. The three judges decided FERC did enough to consider the public safety threat on one hand. On the other hand, they decided that the buck stops with the Department of Energy, not FERC, to consider the full climate and environmental harm of exporting fracked gas, a decision that our lawyers say makes no sense under federal environmental law.
With this ruling, the court failed to protect the citizens of Calvert County, and — at best — further delayed much-needed protections for our climate and for communities from Dimock, Pennsylvania to Myersville, Maryland and everywhere in between that could see new air and water pollution from gas extracted and piped to Cove Point.
But our fight will continue.
First, the judges left the door open to challenge the Department of Energy. The judges did not rule on our core argument that the climate impact of exporting nearly a billion cubic feet of gas every day for 20 years must be weighed by the federal government. They punted the claim to DOE, and we are moving forward. The Sierra Club recently filed a lawsuit challenging DOE. CCAN is actively exploring ways to help with this legal effort, and to finally hold the federal government accountable for fully assessing the climate harm of gas export facilities.
Meanwhile, right now, you can join our friends at We Are Cove Point in urging Governor Larry Hogan to order an independent safety study for the Cove Point export facility. No government agency has yet conducted a so-called “Quantitative Risk Assessment” of the dangers of a chemical spill or explosion from Dominion’s refinery and export terminal, which sits in a densely populated residential neighborhood. Sign the petition now to join We Are Cove Point in asking, “Where’s our safety study?”
We’re determined to keep fighting Dominion’s polluting and dangerous facility, and to support southern Marylanders who continue the on-the-ground campaign. We’ll keep you updated on ways you can continue to help, as we work to spread clean solar and wind power to every Maryland community and to stop fracked-gas infrastructure in its tracks.

There were people who said it couldn’t be done. You can’t turn out over 600 people – from every region of Virginia – to march a mile through 99-degree heat to Governor Terry McAuliffe’s house.
But guess what? We did it. With drums banging, banners waving, and people chanting, “McAuliffe: We don’t want your dirty pipelines,” over 600 people rallied on Brown’s Island in downtown Richmond Saturday and then marched till our voices were cascading off the front door of McAuliffe’s mansion.
The message to the Governor was clear: We don’t want fracked-gas pipelines in our mountains or oil drilling off our coast or toxic coal ash dumped in our rivers. We want solar and wind and a real energy democracy in Virginia where no communities are sacrificed for the profits of fossil fuel polluters. We want a safe climate for our kids.
And that message made news headlines across Virginia, from NBC 29 to CBS 19 to ABC 8 to the Richmond Times-Dispatch to the Associated Press story that ran in papers from Roanoke to Norfolk to the Washington Post.
If you missed the rally, check out and share the photo highlights on Facebook. I guarantee you’ll be inspired. Also, stay tuned: There’s much more to come as we keep up the pressure on our Governor to put people over polluters, and stop reckless pipelines and coal ash dumping.

No one who attended the rally and march will ever forget what they saw and heard: the music, the buses full of activists arriving from as far away as Newport News and Blacksburg, the artwork, and the speakers defiant and full of determined hope.

 

Pastor Paul Wilson of Buckingham County spoke first, describing how Dominion Resources – with Gov. McAuliffe’s blessing – wants to build a massive compressor station for fracked gas next to two African American rural churches.
Dan Marrow of Quantico broke down in tears describing how his family has to drink bottled water because of Dominion’s coal ash pollution.
Before we hit the streets, Jane Kleeb, a leader from Nebraska who helped defeat TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, reminded us of our power: “We never had as much money as TransCanada … But what we had was our folks. What we had was putting on our boots every morning and getting into the streets. … Every single one of you is a seed of resistance.”
And this photo shows you just how many “seeds” were among us:

If you missed the rally, check out these photos and share on Facebook. Then, stay tuned for the next ways you can get involved in this growing movement across Virginia for clean energy, clean water and climate justice!
We can stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline for fracked gas. We can stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and its dirty compressor station. And offshore oil drilling. And the toxic dumping of coal ash in our rivers.
And we can move Virginia toward something better. Solar panels on a million rooftops are in our future if we fight. Huge offshore wind farms are in our future if we fight. The end of Dominion Power’s dominion over our democracy is in our power if we fight. And an end to reckless pro-pollution policies from politicians like Gov. Terry McAuliffe – that’s in our future too if…we…fight!
We’re ready. And I know you are too.
Onward!
Mike, Harrison, Drew, Monique and all of the team at CCAN

This Saturday, hundreds of people from across Virginia will converge in Richmond to march to Governor Terry McAuliffe’s doorstep. Our “March on the Mansion” is going to be the biggest rally for climate justice Virginia has ever seen.
It’s even attracting the attention of famous actor Mark Ruffalo. For real. He released a video message on Thursday to urge Virginians to join us: Click here to watch on Facebook and share!
It’s surely going to be hot — but it also couldn’t be a more important time to turn up the heat on our leaders.
As we hit the streets this Saturday, major decisions are pending on the proposed Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is about to decide on the next round of permits for Dominion’s reckless coal ash disposal plans. And, yet, our Governor continues to shrug his shoulders at fossil fuel plans that would harm our communities and worsen climate change.
So it’s time we bring our voices straight to him.
I can’t wait to see you in Richmond this Saturday at noon. Hundreds of you have been filling up bus seats, painting beautiful banners, and — I hope — exercising your chanting voices.
Now, here’s everything you need to know to join us on Saturday — please read to the end!
THE BASICS: Our rally begins on Saturday at 12 noon on Brown’s Island in downtown Richmond. Click here for a Google map. The island is accessible via pedestrian entrances at Tredegar Street & South 5th and South 7th Streets respectively, and by Richmond’s Canal Walk. (Note: a bag check is required to enter Brown’s Island, so make sure to leave knives or glass bottles at home.) The island has restrooms.
BUSES: If you signed up for a bus seat, you will have received (or will shortly get) an email, call or text directly from your bus captain. Find bus pick-up details and contact info for bus captains on the transportation page: http://marchonthemansion.org/transportation.
PARKING: If you’re driving, we have a list and map of parking garages located within a few blocks of Brown’s Island on the transportation page: http://marchonthemansion.org/transportation. (The garages are also just a few blocks from our march end-point at the Capitol.)
OUR AGENDA: Our official rally program begins at 12 noon, but the activity on Brown’s Island will kick-off earlier. Here’s a run-down of the full agenda:

• Pre-rally: Interfaith leaders are holding a prayer service at 11:15 a.m. — all are welcome! Local musicians will begin playing around 11:30 a.m.
• Rally: We’ll get fired up with great speeches from fellow Virginians on the front lines of fossil fuel impacts, and from student, faith, social justice, and climate leaders. ASL interpretation will be available!
• The march: We’ll start marching toward Capitol Square by 1 p.m., guided by marshals, and we’ll wrap up around 2:30 p.m. at the Capitol Bell Tower. If you need help making this walk, we’ll have bus shuttles to take you from the island to the Capitol.
• After the march: Buses will depart from the same block where our march will end. For those not departing on buses, join us for a post-rally debrief and issue session at St. Paul’s church at 815 E Grace St.

SPREAD THE WORD: Throughout the day, post and share updates, photos and video on social media using our march hashtag: #ReachTerry.
THE WEATHER: It will be hot on Saturday — and we’re prepared for it. We’ll have tents to provide shade, water, ice, and mister bottles — plus cooling spots along the march route. Make sure to bring: a water bottle, hat, sunscreen, umbrella, snacks, and anything else that helps keep you cool. St. Paul’s church at 815 E Grace St. (across from the Capitol) will be open from 12 noon – 4 p.m. for marchers as a cooling spot with AC and restrooms. You can also duck into air-conditioned restaurants and shops along the march route as needed.
BRING YOUR OWN DRUMS, SIGNS AND BANNERS: Let’s make this not only the biggest rally for climate justice Virginia has ever seen, but the most beautiful! Do you have a snare drum? Conga? Bass drum? Bring it! And bring your best signs and banners that show why you’re marching.
QUESTIONS? Please check out the FAQ page on our rally website: http://marchonthemansion.org/faq-details. And don’t hesitate to email us at: info@marchonthemansion.org.
We are going to have a fun, peaceful, creative and POWERFUL event this Saturday. We’re going to come together in bigger numbers than ever before to make sure our Governor puts the welfare of citizens over the profits of polluters.
As our friend Mark Ruffalo said, “We can win these fights if we choose to fight.”
Let’s hit the streets together on Saturday!
Mike Tidwell

Last Friday, just before the long holiday weekend, Governor Larry Hogan made a deeply harmful and hypocritical decision to veto the Clean Energy Jobs Act.
The Baltimore Sun called the Governor’s move “short-sighted.”1 Bill sponsor Delegate Bill Frick called it “infuriating.” I‘d call it flat-out wrong. And, with your help, we WILL overturn it.
Thousands of Marylanders like you fought to pass this bill, and increase our state’s renewable energy standard to 25% by 2020. With this shocking veto, Governor Hogan has frozen the promise of thousands of new jobs, cleaner air, and a safer climate. And he’s put the jobs of hundreds of Maryland solar installers at immediate risk.2
As a first step, we need to make sure Governor Hogan understands the line he’s crossed.
Pick up the phone and call Governor Hogan today. Tell him Marylanders will not stand by and let him stall our clean energy progress!
In his veto letter, Governor Hogan misleadingly called the Clean Energy Jobs Act a “tax” on ratepayers. We know it’s an investment in a brighter, more just future.
Marylanders pay a high cost for dirty energy now — every time a business floods from rising seas or a child misses school for asthma. With an investment of less than a penny per day per resident, we can get a quarter of our electricity from clean sources within five years, saving lives through cleaner air and lowering bills over the long-term. In fact, the Hogan administration’s own study confirms that our current clean energy standard is a multi-billion dollar boon to Maryland’s economy.
With his veto, Governor Hogan not only misled the public, he backtracked on his own policy. The Governor recently signed legislation requiring a 40% cut in greenhouse gas pollution by 2030. Now he’s vetoed our number one tool to curb emissions. So what’s his plan?
Call Governor Hogan now. Tell him Marylanders want action — not empty promises — on climate change.
Thanks to your action, we passed the Clean Energy Jobs Act with bipartisan support and veto-proof majorities in the General Assembly. Over 71% of Marylanders and over 170 small businesses across the state support expanding our use of renewable energy.
Governor Hogan sent a message that he is not listening to his constituents, the General Assembly, or business leaders.
Now it’s time for us to send a message to Governor Hogan.
Next, we will work together to override this veto!