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The Retiree Advocate How the Trump Administration Is Changing Nonprofit Organizations: Chaos to Follow Katie Harris Did you know that, in the Trump regime, up now means down? That’s right; Trump’s administration is issuing guidance and executive orders that turn the nonprofit sector on its head. Existing laws are being reverse- engineered to make it discriminatory to reverse discrimination. Organizations working to reverse inequities and injustice are scrambling to understand how they’re affected, and how to position themselves to avoid nuisance complaints and lawsuits. Advocacy and service organizations will have to recast how they represent their work, hiring, and programming. But first, what, exactly, are executive orders and guidance? Executive orders are directives, signed by the president, that have the force of law. They can be nullified by the courts or modified through legislation, but they remain in effect until they are rescinded by a president or expire on a specified date. Trump has issued hundreds. For handy reference, the National Council of Nonprofits has published a chart of executive orders with sizable sec- tor impacts. Organizations centering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); immigrant justice; health care; envirormental justice; LGBTQ+; and civic access are among those hardest hit. Unlike executive orders, official guidance does not have the force of law. However, guidance from Attorney General Pam Bondi has a huge impact on organizations. Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination redefines how the federal government considers DEI. Centering the interests of a specific population is now discrimination on the basis of a protected characteristic. The Guidance maintains that programs that “separate or restrict access based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics…generally violate federal law by creating unequal treatment or reinforcing stereotypes, regardless of the stated goal.” But lest we assume consistency matters, “failing to maintain sex-separated athletic competitions and intimate spaces can also violate federal law.” Therefore, “organizations should affirm sex-based boundaries rooted in biological differences.” The assaults on organizations are mind-boggling in scope and very destabilizing. Among the most impacted: • Race-based scholarships and program participation; • Preferential hiring or promotion; • Access to facilities or resources based on race, ethnicity, income level or census tract. Language to serve as proxies for “preferential treatment” is explicit in Bondi’s Guidance. Cultural competence, lived experience and diversity statements are cited as examples of proxies. Instead, organizations are supposed to be “merit-based.” In other words, the protected class is now those who benefit from the “affirmative action of generational wealth,” as Michelle Obama aptly put it. The Department of Justice, alone, canceled 373 grants, totaling $500 mil- lion, affecting 221 organizations. These grants had been approved by Congress, which sets policy through its power of the purse. Eliminating these grants puts the president’s actions at odds with Congressional intent. But, with this administration, that’s the point. The implications are huge. Government grant cycles have been canceled. Foundations have redirected their grants to maintain the operations of vital organizations under sustained assault. Legal service organizations are deluged by preparing legal challenges to fight these orders. Nonprofits must also expect nuisance complaints and lawsuits requiring defense, intended to divert re- sources away from programming. One tool will be scrutiny of IRS Form 990, the detailed nonprofit tax filing, which anyone may inspect online. (Religious congregations are exempt from public scrutiny). Ongoing foci in the 990 for right-wing trolls include: • Using contractors in lieu of staff. Expect increased scrutiny here. The IRS criteria are clearly spelled out; • Fundraising costs that appear disproportionately high, relative to the budget; • Advocacy activities that might constitute lobbying in excess of thresholds; • Lack of conflict of interest and whistleblower policies; • Absence of financial policies and procedures. Meeting minutes, annual reports and job announcements will also face scrutiny. One growing vulnerability: agencies record meeting minutes using Zoom instead of taking written minutes. It is very tempting, but don’t do it. People say all sorts of things in meetings that shouldn’t be captured for all time. Expect meeting minutes to be requested with complaints. Referring to a contractor as a deputy director in a recorded board meeting, for example, could leave an organization very vulnerable. We can expect complaints around phrasing of job postings and program eligibility. Any public-facing document is a potential avenue of exposure for an organization. • To read the Attorney General’s memo, search for Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination. • A tool kit for protecting nonprofits from scurrilous attacks is Nonprofit Toolkit: Resources for Organizations Facing Government Investigations. • A New York Times article about what’s coming is "You May Not Be Trump’s Target This Time, but You Could Be Next." Katie Harris is the Retiree Advocate's Copy Editor. Back to the Advocate Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents December 2025 ICE Considers Raiding the Local Sandwich Shop The Barbed Wire < Back to Table of Contents

For more than a quarter century, Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action (PSARA) has been active in fighting for older Americans, retirees, their children and families through social justice activities. P uget S ound A dvocates for R etirement A ction Working across generations for social justice, economic security, dignity, and a healthy planet for all of us. Read & Download PSARA’s 2nd edition Primer on Leveling the Medicare Playing Fi eld Health Secretary Kennedy is Attacking Traditional Medicare in Washington State In January, the Trump administration will be rolling out a new control on Traditional Medicare in six states, including Washington State. This program is called WISeR. It will affect Medicare benefits by requiring a new prior authorization for a number of medical decisions. This means your doctor will need to receive prior authorization from the Federal government before you get some medical treatments. C lick Here for more on the WISeR Program and what you can do to stop it. PSARA December Retiree Advocate Click here to read the Advocate online In this issue we feature a letter from five state medical associations opposing the new WISeR pilot program expanding the use of prior authorization in Original Medicare. Also in this issue: Analysis of a PNHP study showing that Medicare Advantage plans disadvantage BIPOC seniors. Introduction of PSARA's plans for the 2026 legislative session. The connection between AARP, United Health, and WISeR. Reminiscence of Jane Goodall. Standing for Democracy's plans to build resistance in Washington State. The human toll of the government shutdown on federal employees. Analysis of the 2025 election. Trump's plans to restrict non-profit organizations. And more! Upcoming PSARA Events/meetings PSARA Pierce County Organizing Committee Thursday, Dec. 11, 5:30 - 7 p.m. Central Co-op, 4502 N Pearl Street, Tacoma You can attend this event In-person and through Zoom. To receive the Zoom Link contact Lynne Dodson: lynned.dodson@gmail.com Protecting our Assets Protecting our Asses In the last year PSARA’s Co-President, Jeff Johnson, wrote a series of articles for PSARA’s Retiree Advocate highlighting the need to move beyond fossil fuels and the responsibility of unions to insure that their retirement plans stop investing in fossil fuels not just because its good environmentally but also good economics. Unions can play a key role in jump starting our green future. These articles have been consolidated into a single publication: Protecting our Assets Protecting our Asses. Click here to download the pamphlet or read it online. DOWNLOAD JOIN PSARA in making a difference! Back to Top

The Retiree ADVOCATE The Monthly Publication of PSARA EDUCATION FUND Vol XL, No 12 December 2025 “Uniting Generations for a Secure Future” PSARA Education Fund End-of-Year Donations What a year it has been, and 2026 is shaping up to be even more challenging for so many of us. Read More No Real Choices – Diversity Is Not Equity Anne Watanabe Analysis of a PNHP study showing that Medicare Advantage plans disadvantage BIPOC seniors. Read More ICE Considers Raiding the Local Sandwich Shop The Barbed Wire Read More We Remember Linda Warren Read More 2026 Washington State Legislative Session Yes, It Really Is That Time Again Pam Crone Introduction of PSARA's plans for the 2026 legislative session. Read More Letter from State Medical Associations: A letter from five state medical associations opposing the new WISeR pilot program expanding the use of prior authorization in Original Medicare. Read More AARP, United Health Group, and WISeR Robby Stern The connection between AARP, United Health, and WISeR. Read More Jane Goodall Anne Watanabe Reminiscence of Jane Goodall. Read More Resistance In Washington State Grows Cindy Domingo Standing for Democracy's plans to build resistance in Washington State. Read More Federal Employees Shutdown Nightmare Steve Kofahl The human toll of the government shutdown on federal employees. Read More Election 2025: So Many Questions Mike Andrew Analysis of the 2025 election. Read More How the Trump Administration Is Changing Nonprofit Organizations: Chaos to Follow Katie Harris Trump's plans to restrict non-profit organizations. And more! Read More

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents November 2025 Update on the Fight Against WISeR Anne Watanabe Retiree Advocate readers know that PSARA has been actively pushing back on the upcoming changes to Original Medicare the WISeR pilot program. As reported in previous RA issues, the WISeR model is slated to begin on January 1 in Washington State. As a result, prior authorization (prior approval by Medicare) will then be required for 17 procedures that previously were left up to you and your doctors to decide (although described by CMS as “voluntary,” absent prior authorization, your healthcare provider risks not being reimbursed by Medicare for your treatment). Original Medicare, unlike private Medicare Advantage plans, has in the past rarely required prior authorization. But under WISeR, contractors utilizing artificial intelligence will review doctors’ requests for approval of these procedures. And these contractors will be rewarded with a share of the costs that they “save” for Medicare (i.e., savings from denying or discouraging treatments). CMS introduced WISeR in July with little fanfare or consultation with the public or the medical community. So, few seniors realize this change is coming. This is why the PSARA outreach team has made many presentations during the last few months throughout the Puget Sound area to raise awareness and to push back against WISeR. Many of you have responded with calls and letters to your representatives. Your advocacy is working! PSARA has met with staff of our Congressional leaders, including Rep. DelBene, Senator Patty Murray, and Senator Maria Cantwell. You’ll find an inspiring video about WISeR by Senator Patty Murray on our webpage. We’ve met with staff of the state Office of Insurance Commissioner, Patty Kuderer, and she has now issued a statement critical of WISeR. At press time, Representatives Smith, DelBene, Jayapal, Randall, and Strickland had signed onto the Pocan/Schakowsky House Resolution calling for WISeR to be stopped (see the September issue of the RA for more info on this Resolution). PSARA continues our work to protect Medicare from becoming a privatized system that reaps profits by denying care to seniors and the disabled. Regardless of whether you are in Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan, it benefits all of us to maintain a strong, solvent, publicly-funded Medicare system as a safety net for all seniors and the disabled. Finally, dear Retiree Advocate readers, if you have a personal story you are willing to share about prior authorization and how it affected you or your family’s care, please send it to orga nizer@psara.org . We know that personal stories show us how real lives are affected, and these can in turn affect public opinion and elected officials. Thank you for joining us in this fight. Anne Watanabe is a member of PSARA's Executive Board and Chair of our Race and Gender Equity (RaGE) Committee < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents November 2025 Please Make an End-of-Year Donation to the PSARA Education Fund Robby Stern When you consider End-of-Year donations, we hope you will decide to donate to the PSARA Education Fund, a 501c3 organization. Your financial support will assist the Education Fund with our work in 2026. The Retiree Advocate , a publication of the Education Fund, has continued to provide information and the type of analysis that would be difficult to find elsewhere. Although we are a regional organization and address issues impacting residents of Washington, increasingly the information we are providing is used by organizations in other parts of the country. In 2025, many of us suffered varying levels of shock at the attacks by the Trump administration on democracy, immigrants, the environment, health care, and on programs won by mass activism like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Republican members of Congress and a few Democrats have collaborated or stood by. While a number of the lower courts are resisting the attack on the rule of law, a majority of the Supreme Court appears to be in the pocket of the autocrats. Fortunately, the resistance to autocracy and fascism is growing. Unfortunately, we can anticipate willful attacks on the resisters by the fascists and their allies. It will take more determination, hope, and bravery to build the movement we need to stop this march to eliminate our democratic rights and the programs we hold dear. The PSARA Education Fund intends to help build our knowledge and spirit to resist, with good information and analysis and even some levity. (Remember the articles about Jello?) Besides the Retiree Advocate , the Education Fund finances presentations, meetings, and webinars, all designed to give our members and the broader community the information they need. We utilize the knowledge of national and state experts. We draw attention to the attacks and what we can do. Besides the fight to preserve and expand Social Security and Medicare in which we play a leading role, we stand with allies in the fight for democracy. We stand with working people in their fights for the right to organize and to be treated with respect and dignity. We join with allies to fight for racial justice and climate justice. We also focus on what we want to build after we defeat this attack on our lives, our families, our neighbors, and our communities. Remember, things were not so great before the MAGAs gained power. We will discuss what we and our allies can build that is better as we resist the horror that is being unleashed. We will, with many others, develop a vision of how things should be. We do not want to go back to the old ways of the wealthy and corporations deciding what is best for all the rest of us. There is so much to do and so much we can do, and your donations help to pave the way for the work this time in history demands of us. We keep plugging away, and your support financially and morally is the wind behind our organization’s sails. Please make a donation to the PSARA Education Fund of any size prior to the end of the year by either writing a check and mailing it to the PSARA office or going to www.psara.org and making an online donation. Together we will resist and carry on. Robby Stern is president of the PSARA Education Fund and a member of PSARA's < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents June 2025 North Olympic Peninsula 2025: Rural Resistance! Lisa Dekker Like the rest of Washington State, Clallam County and the Peninsula are reeling from the harms happening now – and those yet to come – from this corrupt regime and their flagrant refusal to follow the law. But we are not taking this lying down. Our residents and our leaders are determined to resist. Olympic National Park, just outside Port Angeles, gets thousands of visitors each year and is an economic engine for the region. It was already unable to meet basic maintenance needs, and reduced staffing will make it worse. In addition, although $80 million was al- ready allocated by Congress to replace the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge that burned down in 2023, delivery of those dollars is now uncertain. For many years Port Angeles has been a gateway for Canadian visitors via the Coho/BlackBall Ferry that connects us to Victoria, B.C., just 12 miles away. But now, the absurd tariffs and territorial threats coming from #47 have resulted in an understandable backlash of Canadians deciding not to spend their tourist dollars here. This will have grave economic consequences for our restaurants, hotels, and small businesses this summer unless the tariffs are undone. Likely the most unconscionable harms to individuals here would be the drastic cuts to Medicaid in the current Republican budget. With 20 percent of our adults and more than 37 percent of our children dependent on Medicaid in Clallam County alone, the devastation would be felt by thousands here on the Peninsula. So how are we fighting back? There have been sizeable rallies in Port Ange- les, Sequim, and Port Townsend (Jefferson County) that have many new faces and an enthusiastic response from the community. Indivisible Sequim, first begun in 2016, has had a surge of new members and has backed several rallies. One of the largest gatherings in Port Angeles, and the one with the most young people, was a raucous and upbeat march supporting the Olympic National Park and Park staffers who had been abruptly laid off. Clallam Democrats have become re-energized. With the leadership of their Chair, PSARA member Ellen Menshew, they have hosted timely forums and promoted many rallies. With a new online newsletter, Clallam Democrats Rising, plus a blog, a presence on Substack and Blue Sky, and an events calendar, the Dems are keeping members informed and involved. Our three County Commissioners even did their bit with a letter to Senators Murray and Cantwell and Congresswoman Emily Randall, reminding them of the impacts being felt here and asking that they “do all that they can to support our community.” We don’t know what’s next, but here in the northwest corner, we saw that despair became righteous anger, then hope, and now resistance. We are determined to fight back. Lisa Dekker is PSARA's Co-VP for Outreach and a leader of PSARA's Clallam County organizing committee. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents July 2025 No Kings Day” Draws 2,600 in Sequim; 2,600 in Port Angeles! Tim Wheeler Holding a tally counter and click- ing away as fast as his finger could press the button, Jim Stoffer, one of the “NO KINGs DAY” organizers here, walked from one end to the other of the anti- Trump mass rally on Washington Ave. on the west sideof Sequim, Saturday, June 14. Even though the crowds were thick, I ran into him several times. “What’s the latest count, Jim?” “I just counted everyone from the traffic circle out there to the intersec- tion of Washington and Priest Road. Six hundred sixty-three.” He disappeared in the crowd walking east on the south side of Washington clicking away. Half an hour later I ran into him again, this time across the street. “Two thousand four hundred sixty-four,” he told me. “I’ve stopped counting, rounding it off at 2500 and more coming!” A marshall told us a drone outfitted with a camera would soon arrive to photo the crowd from the air to ensure an accurate count. Sure enough, a drone appeared hovering about 30 feet overhead. So the final estimate is 2,600 and an equal number at the County Court- house in Port Angeles. Well over 5000 folks in Clallam County and probably that many in Port Townsend as well. Probably the largest ever protest dem- onstrations in both Sequim and Port Angeles. CNN reported that “millions” joined vigils in more than 2,000 towns and cities across the U.S. We were waving thousands of signs like, “OVERTHROW- ING KINGS SINCE 1776,” and “DRAIN THE SWAMP.” The traffic was bumper-to-bumper with hundreds of motorists greeting us with honking horns, waves, and thumbs-up salutes. It was a deafening din. In the afternoon I spent there may- be one or two motorists scowled, gave us thumbs down or flicked a finger at us. I would estimate that well over 95% of motorists were with us and against the dictator. Many expressed out- rage against ICE (Im- migration & Customs Enforcement). “ICE IS AMERICA’S GESTAPO” read one sign. “MELT ICE,” read another handwritten by Clare Mannis Hatler, one of the eldest in the crowd at age 94. "WHO WILL PICK THE LETTUCE?" read a sign reminding us that immigrant workers are a vital part of our nation's workforce, putting food on the tables for our entire nation. "IMMIGRATION MAKES AMERICA GREAT," said a message on a scrap of cardboard. Others blasted Trump’s $45 mil- lion military parade in Washington D.C. celebrating his own birthday: “If There’s Money for a Parade, There’s Money for Medicaid,” said a sign car- ried by a woman. She linked Trump’s self-glorification with his drive to slash Medicaid by $715 billion, cuts so vicious it will strip 13.7 million people of health care and drive many rural and public hospitals---like OMC---into bankruptcy. He and his departed crony, Elon Musk, are inflicting over a TRILLION dollars in cuts to human needs programs to pay for $4.5 TRILLION in tax cuts mostly for themselves and their fellow billionaires over the coming decade. There were Army, Navy, and Coast Guard veterans in the crowd who face vicious cuts to the Veterans Administration by Trump and his MAGA minions in Congress. One sign proclaimed, “Hitler Threw Himself a Birthday Party Too.” One Special Forces vet was wearing his Green Beret. He told me he was there, in uniform, to defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and full funding for the VA and for veterans benefits. There was Steve Koehler who strolled along the sidewalk picking his banjo and singing the late Bob Marley song: “Get Up! Stand Up! Stand up For Your Rights!” And at the corner a very tall union electrician, IBEW retiree, Sam Woods, holding a sign he made, “NO WAY IN THE USA!” Sam told me I have been assigned to paint the signs on the side of his pickup for the Clallam County Democrats in time for the Old Time 4th of July Parade in Forks and later that same day in Port Angeles. His pickup will also lead us when we march in the Joyce Daze parade and the Makah Days celebration in Neah Bay. “Bring me the plywood and I will paint them,” I said. “But get them to me soon. July 4th will be here in no time. We need a message against Trump tyranny, against all the cuts in human need to feed billionaire greed! And also to get out the vote to defeat them!” There were also signs reminding us that "King Donald" does not have any of the pomp that conveys the majesty of a monarch. He scowls, smirks, sneers, rants and raves like the convicted crook he is, at best a mobster, a Godfather. "PUT THE CONVICTED FELON IN JAIL” said one sign. Instead, the MAGAs put him in the White House for a second time! Isn't this proof we are of an empire in sharp decline? Ninety million people eligible to vote did not cast a ballot when Trump stole his way into the Executive Mansion. That is our challenge. To awaken all those who are sleeping through the Trump dictatorship. Convince them to register and vote. I was holding one of three signs I made: “THIS YANK SAYS NO BILLION- AIRE KING!” read one. “REMEMBER VAL- LEY FORGE, BULL RUN, BATTLE OF THE BULGE…NO FASCIST TYRANNY!” And the third: “A REPUBLIC, IF WE CAN KEEP IT!” (A quote from Benjamin Franklin, a very wise founding father who understood we can take nothing for granted, that fascists are constantly scheming against democracy). As I mingled with all these “winter soldiers” fighting back against “sunshine patriots,” I was thinking of my friend, Macy, who put herself in harms way, flying to Cairo to join 10,000 people. Yesterday, she sent me a very short video of a night rally with 15,000 or 20,000 people gathered somewhere in Egypt in solidarity with the Palestinian people. By now, Macy must be across the Suez Canal, trekking in 120 degree heat across the Sinai in the “Freedom March to Gaza.” They seek to end the genocide that has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians. Meanwhile, Netanyahu launched a drone blitz against Iran and Iran retaliated. We must all work to prevent escalation into a regional or even a world war. Warmonger Trump may drag us into all-out war in the Middle East. We must stop him! Tim Wheeler is a veteran activist, journalist, and a leader of PSARA's Clallam County organizing committee. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents May 2025 March 27 Detention Center Rally Richard Burton Approximately 300 labor and community activists, including many PSARA members, gathered outside the ICE concentration camp in Tacoma, aka the “Northwest Ice Processing Center” on the evening of March 27. They gathered to express their collective outrage over the ongoing human rights abuses in the camp and specifically the summary detention of two labor activists, Alfredo ‘Lelo’ Juarez Zeferino and Lewelyn Dixon. Dixon (known to loved ones as “Aunty Lyn”) has lived in the US for more than five decades. She works at the University of Washington Medical Center as a Lab Technician and is a member of SEIU 925. In early March, she was abducted at the airport, returning from a trip. A family relative traveling with her waited for hours while she went through the security line with no information. The family member was finally informed via a phone call from Dixon that she’d been detained by ICE. She’s been held now for nearly two months Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez is an organizer and member of Familias Unidas por la Justicia and Community to Community (groups primarily working in Whatcom and Skagit Counties). He came to this country as a young teenager. He was detained and sent to the detention center on Tuesday, March 25. According to witnesses, Lelo was on his way to drop off his partner at her workplace. When he stopped his car, ICE agents confronted him. Not leaving his vehicle, he tried to exercise his rights. But ICE agents broke his car window. At the rally, Lelo’s younger brother took the mic to thank attendees for showing up for his brother and to call for his brother’s release. Unfortunately, these are only two of the estimated 1,500 people being detained in this prison camp, run by a for-profit private company, GEO, which is contracted by ICE. Despite right-wing rhetoric, this ICE facility, like hundreds of other such facilities around the country, is a site for civil, not criminal, detention. That is, those held in this prison camp are not detained because a court has concluded that they are a threat to public safety, nor because they have committed a crime, but simply because they are awaiting the outcome of their immigration proceedings. There are nearly continuous protests and hunger strikes being undertaken by detainees inside this prison against their mistreatment. One reason for these protests is the fact that gross violations of international law are a matter of course there. The United Nations’ Standards of Rules for Treatment of Prisoners, known at the “Nelson Mandela Rules, explicitly prohibit indefinite and prolonged solitary confinement and the imposition of solitary confinement in the case of detainees with mental or physical disabilities. Despite this, however, ICE’s own data reveals that, on average, this ICE prison camp detains people longer in solidarity confinement than any other ICE facility in the country, and detainees are regularly subjected to the use of chemical agents. PSARA activists in Pierce County have participated in many rallies and community events denouncing this prison camp in our midst. We have developed ties with other groups and activists working both to improve conditions for detainees while also calling for the place to shut down. A small but important piece of progress is a piece of legislation in Olympia, HB 1232, allowing officials from our state’s Department of Health to inspect the facility. This bill has passed both chambers in Olympia but with an amendment from the Sen- ate that will now need to be considered by the House. Please contact your state reps to urge them to pass this bill be- fore the April 27 end-of-session. Richard Burton is PSARA's Co-VP for Outreach. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents August 2025 Here Is a Guide to Make it Easy to Submit Comments Opposing EPA Revoking the Endangerment Finding on Greenhouse Gases Comments Due by Sept 15. Let’s Overwhelm Their Inbox! Anne Shields Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a proposal to revoke the endangerment finding and vehicle emission standards for greenhouse gases (GHG). The proposal relies on fringe science and misinterpretations of the law tojustify a conclusion that the EPA should not regulate GHG. Here is the link to submit your comment to EPA by September 15: https://www.regulations.gov/commen ton/EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194-0093 Mom’s Clean Air Force has provided a template and examples that you can use in writing your comments: 1. Introduction & ask: My name is [NAME] and I’m from [STATE]. I urge EPA not to rescind the Endangerment Finding. This rule is crucial to protect our communities and future generations from the impacts of climate-warming pollution. 2. Tell your story: Share how extreme weather and cli- mate change is impacting you and your family, your community, your future, or yourchildren’s future. How have you and your family and community been impacted by wildfires, floods, extreme heat, orother extreme weather? What do those impacts look like? 3. Include a few facts, for example: · Climate change is caused by green- house gases emitted from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.These gases trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the planet, supercharging dangerous extreme weather. · More intense and more common extreme weather can lead to worsened asthma, allergies, respiratoryillnesses, adverse birth outcomes, Lyme disease, economic costs, and much more. · In 2024, the US had 27 climate disasters that each caused over $1 billion in damages( Climate.gov ). · Today’s children are expected to face 3 times more extreme weather disasters than their grandparents(Earth. org). 4. Close your comments by restating your opposition: Once again, I strongly oppose this proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding. The EPA needs to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment. To learn more: See Third Act’s online Action Alert about EPA’s authority and obligation to limit deadly greenhouse gases: https://thirdact.org/act/urgent-tell-the- epa-dont-gut-the-climate-rule-that- protects-our-health-and-safety/ Earth Justice has a brief, straightforward legal analysis describing what revoking the rule would mean: https://earthjustice.org/experts/hana-vizcarra/a-legal-analysis-of-the-trump-epas-plan-to-revoke-the-endangerment-finding Anne Shields is a member of Third Act and an active member of PSARA's Climate and Environmental Justice Committee < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents October 2025 Local Seniors Oppose WISeR Aljoya Community Sends Letter to Elected Representatives This letter will go to Senators Cantwell and Murray; Representative Jayapal; Insurance Commissioner Kudurer; 46th District Senator Valdez and Representatives Pollet and Farivar. Backgound of the letter: PSARA members Robby Stern and Anne Watanabe gave an excellent presentation to Aljoya Residents on the background and current threats to Medicare. The residents wanted a method to express their opposition to WISeR. One suggestion was for everyone to send a letter in opposition to their elected officials. Someone else suggested we all sign on to one letter and send it as a group of residents. Elaine Berman (AFT-NY Re- tired) and Susan Levy (AFT-WA Retired) drafted the letter and collected statements of agreement. And with the help of many other residents we were able to move forward and send this letter: We are some of the over 170 residents at Aljoya Thornton Place a senior living community located in the Northgate Area of Seattle (450 NE 100 St). We are all on Medicare and are deeply concerned about the rising costs and limited availability of our health care. Specifically, we want to keep and improve Medicare for us, our children, and our grandchildren. We have recently learned about a trial project by CMMS to expand prior authorization requirements for Traditional Medicare through their newly proposed “Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model" be- ginning next year. Washington will be one of the pilot states. We are strongly opposed to this potential erosion of Medicare benefits, the addition of private for-profit firms to our basic Medicare program, the possible increase in pre-authorization denials of medically necessary services in the interest of profits and possible increased cost to us and the Medicare Trust Fund. We urge you to oppose this pilot program right now. Medicare works well and we don’t want to turn it over to more for profit businesses. Money should go, as it was intended, to provide health care for seniors...not to business profits. Will you support us and let everyone in your political orbit know that you are opposed to WISeR and ask them to join in the opposition to WISeR? We at Aljoya are a politically active community and have been picketing at the corner of NE 100 and 5th Ave NE. almost every Friday afternoon against a lot of the new administration’s anti- humane policies. This newest WISeR program is an immediate threat to our health and ability to live an active life. Please work to get the trial program cancelled BE- FORE it is started. Thanks for your consideration. Do come and join us some Friday at our 3:30 demonstration. Signed by over 90 residents of the Aljoya community. < Back to Table of Contents

The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents September 2025 What Do People in the US think About Climate Change? Peter Harris What do people in the US think about climate change? The large majority of people in the US see global warming and want the government to act. This holds across the country, in all states, even those run by Republicans. This has been shown for years in surveys conducted by the Climate Change Communication program at George Mason University and Yale, easily found online. This holds everywhere. A globe- spanning survey by the 89% Project of international newsrooms showed that the very large majority of people in all nations want their governments to do more to fight global warming. The 74% in the US is a lower percentage than almost every other nation. How much are people aware of these opinions? Why does this matter? People who care about global warming tend to think others don’t care. This is part of what prevents climate action. People are more willing to act when they see that others care. Per the 89% Project: “We’re sitting on an enormous potential climate movement...It’s latent. It hasn’t been activated or catalyzed. But when you break through these perception gaps, you help people under- stand that they’re not alone...Making people aware of this would help a lot and bring hope. [A lot] of people are self-censoring and not fighting or voting [for climate action] because they think that their ideas are not in the zeitgeist.” The same holds for politicians. Elected officials greatly underestimate the number of constituents who care about global warming. “You might think their political antennas are finely tuned to public opinion, but they are not – sometimes wildly underestimating public views. . . If we can make politicians more aware of what the people in their country want, they mightactually act on people’s preferences.” Why does reducing climate change have a low political priority? The lack of awareness of public opinion is one reason. Another is the misinformation skillfully produced by the fossil fuel industry. A third reason may be that the environmental impacts of climate change are often confused with environmental problems we’ve addressed before. These have mainly been things we directly created and try to directly solve, often successfully. The problems can be big or small, but they are addressed case by case. In contrast, the climate change caused by humans is an indirect result of greenhouse gas emissions and is global in its impacts. The impacts are new and growing fast and have the potential to damage life on earth. There can only be a global cure. It is easy to see this as outside the scope of government action and beyond our choices in voting. The solution may be recognizing that a global cure will come from hundreds of local actions, from individuals reducing power consumption, to states and nations replacing fossil fuels with solar and wind power. State actions can be popular. The strong political support in Washington for the Climate Commitment Act is a good example. The CCA was protected by voters in soundly rejecting I-2117. It was protected again by the state legislature in a tough bud- get process. How much are people aware of these opinions? Why does this matter? First, we can share our views with friends, neighbors and colleagues. Ask them what they think about global warming. If they care, tell them you care too, and that most others agree. Second, we can share this information with all of our elected officials. This will back up the good positions many have taken, encourage more of the same, and at least stimulate some thought by those who have not supported climate action. Third, we can move from the general to here and now. When a political issue directly or indirectly affecting the climate is on the table, tell the decision makers how many of their constituents want action on global warming. Use the data. Fourth, we can repeat this in next year’s elections. Tell all state and federal candidates the majority view of their constituents and ask for their positions on any climate actions at hand. Publish their responses or non-responses. In all this, do not be discouraged by the federal government’s insane denial of climate change. Trump and the billionaires he serves care more about putting money into their already stuffed pockets than protecting a livable world for their own grandchildren. But the public is opening its eyes. Opinions are the result of the occasions for expressing them. Every day, each of us can add a little weight. Peter Harris is a member of PSARA's Climate and Environmental Justice Committee. < Back to Table of Contents