Good afternoon,

These hot summer nights, mid-July are breaking records. Not long after states from the Great Lakes to the East Coast were shrouded in toxic smoke from raging Canadian wildfires, nearly 100 million people across the South are sweltering under extreme heat warnings amidst a life-threatening heat wave.

The wildfires and heat are bad enough, but as we know with climate-intensified weather disasters...

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS

• Two months of rain fell in just two days as storms raged across the Northeast last week. The flooding, which was the worst seen since Hurricane Irene in 2011 (a so-called "50-year storm"), wiped out roads, destroyed homes, and devastated communities.

• Thanks to climate change, extreme weather events from flooding to droughts and heat waves to hurricanes are becoming more frequent and more severe. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has already logged 35 major disaster declarations this year, but we're not acclimating fast enough: climate-fueled crises keep piling on, threatening to overwhelm the agency.

• Disaster aid must help communities, particularly historically underserved rural communities and communities of color, build resilience that will mitigate future extreme weather events. See how you can help.

ENERGY GRID ON THE GRIND

• It's hot: Texas' power grid has been in unprecedented demand as people and businesses increase air conditioning usage to combat the state's dangerous triple-digit heat. Energy demand yesterday hit 82,014 megawatts (MW), breaking the fourth record of the summer – and today’s demand may be even higher.

• The nation's energy infrastructure has come under scrutiny as extreme temperatures have upped the need for air conditioning and heating – and increased the risk of Americans' deaths if the system fails.

• Yet so far, Texas' grid has stayed strong: thanks in no small part to solar and wind energy and battery additions, expanding capacity to help cover outages when several coal and natural gas plants were forced offline.

• Renewable energy isn't just building out energy grids – it's also building America's workforce. Nearly 300,000 new energy jobs were created across the country in 2022, 114,000 of which were in clean energy technologies – growth that outpaced the nationwide average.

• As the United States transitions to a more diversified energy portfolio, it's essential to ensure that communities relying on fossil fuels aren't left behind in the quest for climate resilience.

THE YOUNG VOTERS ARE OUR FUTURE

• Climate policy is a major priority for young voters, whose entire lives will be shaped by a worsening climate crisis.

• Young voters are a significant bloc that has already proven their power and turned out in force to influence elections – often in favor of Democrats. Rural voters are a similar such bloc, except they lean red instead. Young rural voters are split: in 2020, 47 percent of rural voters under 30 voted for President Biden, while 50 percent voted for Donald Trump.

• If Democrats want to win them over in 2024, they must address young rural voters' main concerns. A strong rural economy, job availability, access to quality health care, education, and community safety are at the top of voters' minds.

SUMMER IS HEATING UP, INFLATION IS COOLING DOWN

• June marked the 12th consecutive month of cooling inflation, with the Consumer Price Index down to 3 percent from nearly 9 percent one year ago. Americans are feeling some much-needed relief as the Biden administration's policies take effect, lowering gas and grocery prices.

APPROPRIATIONS AHEAD

• On the butcher block – or rather, at the forefront of the House's consideration are upcoming appropriations bills.

• The Appropriations Committee advanced the bill to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which includes significant cuts to Inflation Reduction Act programs.

• The bill that funds the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set for markup this week. It would slash funding by more than a third.

• OCP founder and former Senator Heidi Heitkamp appeared on CNBC's Last Call to discuss the national deficit.

• Tomorrow, Senator Heitkamp will be joining a panel at The Promise and Peril of Artificial Intelligence at the 2023 Aspen Security Forum Agenda later this week about. Register here to tune in.

• OCP board member and J.D. Scholten authored a column on how Republicans in control of Iowa's House, Senate, and Governor's office have made Iowa a pawn in the national Republican narrative.

• Des Moines Register: Abortion providers, ACLU sue to block Iowa's new 6-week 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban
• CNN: House passes defense bill after adopting controversial amendments targeting abortion policy and other issues
• Wisconsin Public Radio: The FDA has approved an over-the-counter birth control pill. Here's what it could mean for Wisconsin.
• Axios: Life is about to get much more expensive for millions of families
• The Journal: Teacher Shortage Affecting Rural America Hits Close to Home
• The New York Times: New York Is Ordered by Appeals Court to Redraw House Map

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