For Rep. Michelle E. McGaw of D-Dist, the environment is one of her top priorities. 71 and newly elected Senator Linda Ujifusa, D-Dist. The 11th during the Diet session that started this week.
These two members of Congress are among the representatives and senators that What’sUpNewp reached out to in the Newport County area and South Shore to ask for their vision for this next legislative session. There are obvious similarities between the two areas and important concerns of waterfront and tourism.
We’ve heard from most legislators in these two regions and in the last few days we’ve published responses from D-Dist state legislator Terri-Denise Cortvriend. 72 (Middletown/Portsmouth), MP Lauren Carson, D-Dist. 75 (Newport) and newly elected Congressman Alex Finkelman, D-Dist. 74 (Jamestown/Middletown).
What’sUpNewp reached out to Newport County area and South Shore legislators to ask about their vision for this upcoming legislature.
What’sUpNewp reached out to Newport County area and South Shore legislators to ask about their vision for this upcoming legislature.
Today we focus on McGraw, who represents Portsmouth, Tiverton and Little Compton in the House of Commons, and Ujifusa, a former Portsmouth City Councilor and environmental lawyer who represents Portsmouth and Bristol in the State Senate.
Ujifusa
“I am in the process of deciding which bills I intend to endorse in 2023, so at this time my focus is on legislation that achieves the priorities set during the campaign, including protecting the environment and improving resilience. I can only say that the focus will be: affordable housing and health care (including prescriptions), fairer taxes…we will provide more details once the bill is drafted and implemented.
McGow
Her voter concerns ranged from “helping access to heating assistance programs, to questions about state governments, such as extending the time allowed to transfer vehicle license plates to newly purchased vehicles.” It is sponsored (and passed) by Congress in 2022.
“…I continue to pay close attention to environmental issues and their impact on our communities, states and the world. The UN Environment Summit has raised awareness of the growing plastic problem. The use of single-use plastics is estimated to have increased by 250% to 300% since the pandemic began.”
She noted the growing conversation about microplastics. According to a World Wildlife Fund study, we consume a credit card’s worth of plastic each week. ”
She said the way to address growing plastic concerns is to slow down plastic production through a ban on single-use plastic products such as straws, plastic bags and bottle bills. Extended Producer Responsibility, which holds manufacturers of plastic products and packaging accountable for managing harmful impacts”.
She said this year’s main focus will be on boosting a plastics industry proposal called “advanced recycling,” which the industry believes is the answer to the plastic problem. It promised to introduce legislation to safeguard the state’s citizens and rejected efforts by the American Chemical Society and the plastics industry to support legislation to simplify the permitting process.
