Greene County Democrat

Tag: Center for American Progress (CAP)

  • Newswire: New data shows utility costs rising across nearly every state

    Rising utility rates

    Average household electricity bills in 2025 are running 9.6 percent higher than in 2024, rising faster than wages and overall inflation. 

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Americans across nearly every region of the country are paying more to keep the lights on and the heat running, according to a new nationwide analysis that shows electric and natural gas rate increases spreading deeper into households from coast to coast.
    “There are several reasons why utilities are raising rates so rapidly, including the need to modernize the aging electric grid, which has been burdened by extreme weather events made more frequent and costly due to climate change and growing energy demand due to artificial intelligence data centers,” Center for American Progress (CAP) researchers declared. “At the same time, higher natural gas costs and a policy assault on new clean energy generation from the Trump administration are driving energy costs even higher.”

    An updated utility rate tracker released by the CAP in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that roughly two out of every three electric customers and more than six in ten natural gas customers are now facing higher bills. The increases affect more than 108 million electricity customers and nearly 49 million natural gas customers across 49 states and Washington, D.C., with total added costs approaching $85.8 billion by 2028.

    Federal data shows that the financial pressure is already being felt. Average household electricity bills in 2025 are running 9.6 percent higher than in 2024, rising faster than wages and overall inflation. The analysis identifies at least 222 electric and natural gas utilities that have already implemented rate hikes, received approval for increases, or are seeking new increases through 2027.
    The impact varies sharply by state. In Missouri, some households are seeing monthly electricity increases exceeding $45, while parts of Massachusetts and Arkansas face projected increases of more than $30 a month. In Texas, customers served by multiple utilities are absorbing monthly increases ranging from single digits to more than $20, depending on provider and region. Florida electric customers in some service areas are seeing increases above $30 per month, while households in Michigan, Virginia, and Ohio are facing steady upward adjustments tied to both electric and natural gas service.
    The report points to several drivers behind the rising costs. Utilities across the country are investing billions to upgrade aging infrastructure, much of it stressed by extreme weather and rising demand. At the same time, growing electricity consumption from artificial intelligence data centers is placing additional strain on regional grids. The analysis also links higher costs to federal policy decisions that have slowed the expansion of new clean energy generation, limiting supply options and increasing long-term system expenses.
    Natural gas customers are experiencing parallel pressures. Higher fuel costs and infrastructure spending are pushing bills upward in states such as Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, and Maryland, where monthly gas increases now exceed $10 in some service territories. The report warns that winter heating demands combined with higher rates increase the risk of missed payments and service shutoffs, particularly for low-income households.
    The tracker is based on filings with state public utility commissions, utility company disclosures, and federal energy data. Researchers note that the list is not exhaustive and will continue to grow as additional rate cases move through regulatory approval.
    The latest analysis shows that rate increases already approved or proposed will raise electricity customer bills by $67.7 billion and natural gas customer bills by $18.1 billion nationwide by the end of the decade, affecting households in nearly every state.

     

  • Newswire : New report shows number of people killed by police skyrocketed in 2020

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    According to estimates compiled by the Mapping Police Violence project, roughly 1,000 people have been killed by law enforcement in the past year. The new report revealed that at least 28 percent of those killed were African Americans, who make up just 13 percent of the U.S. population. Although this figure is staggering, the Center for American Progress (CAP) noted that it is almost certainly under-represents the actual number of civilians who died while in the custody of the criminal justice system. The full scope of which cannot be determined due to a lack of official data. According to CAP, data on deaths in custody is crucial for holding law enforcement and correctional facilities across the country accountable. The organization said the absence of accurate and complete information on the number of people who die in custody and the nature of such deaths, stifles policymakers’ ability to examine the underlying causes, let alone determine what can be done to lower the incidence. In a new brief, CAP urged Congress and state legislatures to take the initiative to ensure the dependability of forthcoming data on deaths in custody. “One year ago, George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police as the world watched, spurring a blistering call for police accountability in the United States,” CAP noted. “Floyd is one among the countless Black Americans and other people of color killed by law enforcement: Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Amadou Diallo, Botham Jean, Alton Sterling, Daniel Prude, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Atatiana Jefferson, Stephon Clark, and too many others. In the year since Floyd’s death, the list has grown longer still with the deaths of Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, Daunte Wright, Ma’Khia Bryant, Adam Toledo, Andrew Brown, and, again, too many others.” According to CAP, while the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) began collecting data on deaths in custody in 2020 under the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) of 2013, outstanding funding and compliance issues could compromise the quality of the impending data. “Findings based on such flawed data would not help policymakers understand the causes of deaths in custody or reduce their occurrence, the primary purpose of the DCRA,” CAP editors wrote. CAP’s brief underscored how critical actions could be taken to address these concerns about data on deaths in custody. “Congress should appropriate the necessary funding for the DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance to implement a methodology to search for and validate leads on deaths in custody,” Kenny Lo, a research associate for Criminal Justice Reform at American Progress, wrote in the May 24 brief. “A similar approach enabled the DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to identify nearly three times more arrest-related deaths than before as part of a broader effort that cost BJS less than $5 million between fiscal years 2014 and 2017.” For their part, state legislatures should look to compel all state and local law enforcement agencies to report DCRA data, Lo continued. States such as California, Texas, Maryland, and Tennessee already have laws that require all agencies to report data similar to those required by the DCRA, serving as models for other states to follow, Lo Wrote. Incentivizing DCRA compliance by all agencies would improve the quality of the data and bring about meaningful accountability in the criminal justice system, he continued. “Our nation urgently needs to confront the scourge of police violence against communities of color. Yet for decades, the government has failed to track the number of deaths that occur in the justice system,” said Betsy Pearl, associate director for Criminal Justice Reform at the Center for American Progress. “While data collection alone can’t end systemic racism in our justice system and can’t bring back the countless lives lost, it’s essential for laying the groundwork to create real accountability and justice for all.” For more information and the full report go to the Center for American Progress website.

  • Newswire : Structural Racism eliminated Black Farmers

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia

    A new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) provides insight on how decades of structural racism within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has led to the virtual elimination of black farmers.
    A century ago, roughly 14 percent of farmers were black. By 2012, that number had shrunk to 1.58 percent, according to the report, “Progressive Governance Can Turn the Tide for Black Farmers,” by Abril Castro and Zoe Willingham.
    The study examined the ways in which discriminatory policies by the U.S. government, and especially the USDA, throughout the 20th century and up to the Trump era have led to the elimination of black farmers.
    The authors said they found that black farmers have had less access to credit and less access to extension programs than their white counterparts, preventing black farmers from modernizing and scaling up their farms as white farmers have done.
    The loss of black farmland has had a profound impact on rural black communities, which today suffer from severe economic challenges, among them a poverty rate twice that of rural white communities.
    “This report illustrates the importance of understanding American history and the impact of systematic racism in our agricultural system,” Danyelle Solomon, vice president of Race and Ethnicity Policy at CAP, said in a news release.
    The report gives several policy recommendations for protecting the livelihoods of black farmers:
    · Protecting inherited family farms
    · Expanding research and technical assistance for farmers of color
    · Regular oversight and audits of the USDA by the Government Accountability Office
    · Expanding access to land for black farmers
    “As the report notes, black farmers were systematically removed from the farming industry through government policy and practices,” Solomon said.
    Between 1920 and 2007, black farmers lost 80 percent of their land, according to the report.
    “Moving forward, policymakers must ensure that agricultural policy includes targeted and intentional policies that correct these harms by expanding access to land and technical resources for black farmers,” Solomon said.