Heidi Pascual's web site

By Rose Khattar & Lily Roberts

On Wednesday, July 27, 2022, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) issued a joint statement announcing their agreement to move forward with legislation—called the Inflation Reduction Act—that would address climate change, tax reform, prescription drug reform, and health care costs through the fiscal year 2022 budget reconciliation process. This would be a historic accomplishment in tackling the long-standing crises of climate change and health care costs, and the legislation would also address inflation—an urgent challenge.-- READ MORE

By Will Ragland

The recent rise in violent crime is a national problem, cutting across demographics, political control, and geographies. It is top of mind for voters and should be a top priority for all elected officials at all levels of government. This national trend is rooted in several causes, many of which will require tailored, local solutions. However, the one common driver largely responsible for the increase in violent crime—in rural and metro areas alike—is guns.

Nationally, 80 percent of homicides were committed with a gun in 2020, and gun homicides rose by 35 percent from 2019 to 2020—the largest annual increase on record. -- READ MORE

A SELECTION OF STORIES FROM CAP

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ended nearly 50 years of constitutional recognition of a right to abortion. In a moment of unprecedented erosion of freedoms, women also are confronting many economic challenges. Affordable child care, access to paid leave, and access to affordable health care and prescription medication are all issues that disproportionately affect women. As illustrated in the following stories from women in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire, when policies support women, the entire country stands to benefit.​-- READ MORE

By Jenny Rowland-Shea
A new scientific study published in July found that the Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world. In particular, climate change is having truly profound impacts in Alaska, which is saying something considering that roads are melting in Europe, U.S. national parks are closing from floods and fire, and the water supply in Western states is shrinking at a dramatic rate. At the same time, the Arctic is home to new drilling proposals in extreme and remote areas that have no business being turned into the next major oil hub. Scientists have made it clear that the United States must be looking to transition its economy to clean energy for the sake of our lives, livelihoods, and the planet locking in decades of new drilling would be a massive step backward.​-- READ MORE

By Haneul Lee, Tobias Harris, Allan Yu

In a February 2022 Foreign Affairs essay at the height of the South Korean presidential election, then-People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol took a strong swing at outgoing President Moon Jae-in’s approach to relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). He singled out President Moon’s response to PRC economic pressure following the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in 2017, characterizing Moon as succumbing to PRC economic retaliation at the expense of the ROK’s national security.. -- READ MORE

OCA-Wisconsin donated money to MCHH (Milwaukee Consortium for Hmong Health). This donation helps the Hmong community in areas of health outreach, education and navigation.

Every year we give out scholarships. This year we gave out 3 scholarships at our annual picnic. There were 2 for graduating high school seniors: OCA-WI High School Merit Scholarship and OCA-WI Community Scholarship. The OCA Wisconsin UWM Scholarship Fund was awarded to a college senior from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM). -- READ MORE