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11/26/18 

Contact Federal Government Officials


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1.    This week in Congress:  The House will consider twenty-nine (29) bills this week with 8 votes scheduled for Tuesday and the balance on Friday. Let's review the Majority Leader's Schedule so we know what's coming.  On Monday, the Senate will resume consideration of the nomination of Stephen Alexander Vaden, of Tennessee, to be General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture. We can read more about Vaden at ProPublica. We can check the Senate calendar daily for updates on what's is coming the next day.

2.   Despite his own naysaying and retreating from the Paris Agreement, The Trump administration dropped their climate change report the day after Thanksgiving – presumably with the hopes that its message would be lost in the hubbub of leftovers and holiday shopping.  The 1600-page National Climate Assessment report--produced by 13 federal agencies and 300 scientists, at the request of Congress, confirms that climate change is “affecting every sector.” 
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/24/670581501/backed-by-national-report-climate-change-is-affecting-every-sector-of-our-lives  We can read the report here: https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/  The message is dire as was to be expected. Let’s let our MoC (particularly the GOP ones) know that we have seen the information and expect immediate action before it is too late.  The report calls on us to take aggressive action to mitigate future catastrophes. USCAN, the US Climate Action Network (https://www.usclimatenetwork.org/member-organizations), provides a list of local and regional groups as well as national ones focused on climate change; let’s get to work! 

3.   Our own authorities are using tear gas on refugees who want to file for asylum in the US.  https://www.apnews.com/72efa4f1822241c2817a2fb6aa191fb4  Let’s ask our MoCs what they are doing about this inhumane approach to desperate people.   Let’s remind them that we know this is not a real crisis, as Trump makes it out to be.  In fact, knowing these people were coming, we could have been pro-active and had an increased number of agents to process the asylum claims.  

4.   Trump is continuing to insist that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was not involved in ordering the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, despite findings to the contrary from the CIA. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/25/trump-khashoggi-murder-saudi-arabia-1013997. Khashoggi’s daughters have written a powerful and poignant editorial for The Washington Post:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/we-are-jamal-khashoggis-daughters-we-promise-his-light-will-never-fade/2018/11/23/8be7d4f2-ef36-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html?utm_term=.59c17c33a3f3  Let’s let our MoC know that we cannot tolerate Trump’s propensity for cozying up to murderous dictators and that this US resident deserves justice.  We need to speak up now and insist that our MoCs overstep the president and impose serious sanctions on the Saudis, starting with the withholding of funds and arms (like our allies have done: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/11/24/jamal-khashoggi-finland-denmark-germany-arms-sales/2101874002/)  that have resulted in a humanitarian crisis in their war against Yemen. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-war-yemen.html. We can also take a small step to safeguard journalists across the globe by donating money to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

5.   “An estimated 85,000 children under the age of five have starved to death over the last three years as a result of Yemen’s civil war, a report from Save the Children has found, as the charity urged an immediate ceasefire to prevent more loss of life.”  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/21/yemen-young-children-dead-starvation-disease-save-the-children  Let’s tell our A) senators to support S. J. Res.  54, and our B) representatives to support H. Con. Res. 138 to end the United States role in the war in Yemen. This is the worst humanitarian disaster with over 500,000 mostly civilians killed, young children starving to death, and 14 million people at risk of famine. The U.S. should not be a part of this war along with Saudi Arabia.

6.   Fight for the Future is reminding us that there is still time to overturn the FCC’s decision on net neutrality.  We can use their tool to contact our MoCs:  https://www.deadlinefornetneutrality.com/

7.   From Network Lobby:  The Trump Administration's proposed public charge rule would drastically redefine who we welcome as immigrants to the United States by putting a higher value on affluent immigrants. This rule is wrong and violates our faith teaching to recognize the dignity of all people.  Help the faith community reach our goal of 100,000 comments submitted! It is very important that you take the time to personalize your comment:  https://networklobby.org/publiccharge/

8.   From one of our own:  This week’s list of public comment needs - a couple of updates. DeVos Title IX proposal still not posted. The most alarming things weren't in regulations, though there's a telling amount of US steel importers who make car parts requesting tariff exemptions. I didn't check other kinds of exemptions. Comment period open on oil drilling in Alaska federal waters. https://drive.google.com/open?id=13jWbKRQhuImKyXUyOX_cw6deG4KRvAvd

9.   In September, the Department of Interior refused to challenge a ruling which took away the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's jurisdiction over their own reservation (https://bit.ly/2zmTID1https://bit.ly/2PWKtUr). Right now, there is legislation in both the House and Senate, which would reaffirm the status of the Mashpee's reservation: the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act (S. 2628/H.R. 5244). Let's stand with the Mashpee and call our MoC in the House and Senate to demand that they support these bills. We can also read more from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe website, which includes more information about what is at risk without this legislation, as well as phone numbers, sample letters, and PDF's and a video we can share to help spread the word on social media: https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/standwithmashpee/

10. “Toms, the shoe company that donates a pair for every pair purchased, just added another cause to its bottom line: ending gun violence.  Blake Mycoskie, the company’s founder, announced a $5 million donation campaign to end gun violence while a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Monday night. Fighting back tears, Mycoskie explained how he was personally affected by the recent shootings in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which prompted him to take action.”  http://fortune.com/2018/11/20/toms-launches-campaign-to-end-gun-violence-with-5-million-donation/ Let’s click here and send a message to our representatives:  https://www.toms.com/

11.  Ronald D. Vitiello, an architect of Trump’s family separation policy, has been nominated to run ICE and is undergoing Senate confirmation hearings. In his testimony, he has indicated that family separation is still a policy option. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/417210-number-of-immigrant-children-in-us-custody-reaches-all-time-high  Let’s tell our Senators that Vitiello is unfit to lead ICE and to vote against his confirmation.

12. Flouting ethics laws, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross have failed to file their annual financial disclosures. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/11/months-after-deadline-financial-disclosures-for-mnuchin-devos-ross-still-not-public/ Let’s tell our MoCs that we expect them to exercise their oversight responsibilities on this, and let’s tell them it’s time that they strengthen our ethics laws so that they have real enforcement consequences.

13. In a move that has set off a lobbying frenzy and shocked some experts on healthcare, Trump has just invited the healthcare industry to assist in rewriting the federal kickback and self-referral rules now governing doctors; the existing rules are aimed at preventing improper influence over choices of doctors, hospitals and prescription drugs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, 100 million people who account for more than a third of all health spending: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/move-to-relax-rules-that-ban-health-care-kickbacks/  We need to tell the White House that the healthcare industry has already proven itself so predatory and corrupt that it must be barred from any participation in such rule-writing. 

Election/Voting

1.    Georgia has Runoff Elections coming up next week on Tuesday, Dec. 4.   We can help get Georgia's Democratic voters to the polls with Postcards to Voters' 
Campaign 138: John Barrow and Lindy Miller, for Secretary of State and Public Service Commissioner respectively. Tomorrow (Nov. 27) is the last day to get postcards out in time for this campaign. We can all help by writing 5 cards today. Meanwhile, volunteers will be awaiting results of this Tuesday's Special Election for US Senator in Mississippi. (Campaign 137: Mike Espy.) More special and runoff elections will be coming so let's stay engaged. We can sign up as new volunteers for Postcards to Voters here.

Other Actions

1.    In this tweet, Senator Sherrod Brown (OH-D) wrote, “As Secretary of State, I asked McDonald's to print a million voter registration forms on their tray liners. To this day, if you go to the Board of Elections, you’ll find registration forms with ketchup and mustard stains We should be making it easier—not harder—to vote.” Click here to see a photo of one of the tray liners:  https://twitter.com/SherrodBrown/status/1064700426543669249 Let’s write to McDonald’s corporate headquarters and ask them to do this all over the country: Steve Easterbrook, President, CEO, 2111 McDonald’s Drive, Oak Brook, IL 60523; @SteveEasterbrk

2.   In the vein of the old “anti-coloring books”, Coloring Without Borders Coloring Book provides users the opportunity to finish coloring pages with” Illustrations from over 80 professional artists from around the world.”  https://store.familiesbelongtogether.org/products/coloring-without-borders-coloring-book All proceeds go to Families Belong Together to support their work “to permanently end family separation and detention, seek accountability for the harm that's been done, and to immediately reunite all families that have been torn apart.”

3.    In a tweet earlier this month, the NRA told "anti-gun" doctors to "stay in their lane" after a series of research papers about firearm injuries and deaths was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, including new recommendations to reduce gun violence  In addition to caring for gun-related injuries and their long-term consequences, "we need rigorous research to better understand the crisis, test solutions, and learn how best to implement and sustain those that work," they wrote. "To date, the ability to study important questions that might help reduce firearm-related injury has been hampered by a lack of funding and a worry among researchers that studying anything related to guns could put their research careers at risk. This needs to be fixed," they wrote.   https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/19/health/nra-stay-in-your-lane-physicians-study/index.html  To support doctors, we can “like” and retweet many of the tweets in this article. We can “like” the FB page for American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine - “Affirm” and keep up on progress.  

4.   From one of our own:  Everything you could possibly need to promote Open Enrollment for the ACA in one post (including printable PDF's for posters for all 50 states and DC in both English and Spanish):  https://www.facebook.com/groups/2468746626684978/permalink/2563901430502830/

5.   Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia, Stacy Abrams, may have given up on contesting the election results, but she made it clear that she would not stop fighting against the serious and unconstitutional voter suppression efforts that have plagued voting rights in the state. https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/16/politics/stacey-abrams-concession/index.html. In addition to planning a major federal lawsuit, Abrams is launching an organization called Fair Fight Georgia, which aims to fight back against voter suppression. We can find out more on how to donate money or get involved here.

6.   While the northern California Camp Fire is now contained, so much as been lost.   https://www.npr.org/2018/11/25/670652466/northern-california-camp-fire-contained Postcards for America has a guide to how we can help:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/15TciVMPv2u5Sm-eXBTBe6gJeDuF0latYiiGI-P1F1FA/edit

7.   Suit Up Maine’s pre-election work was second to none.  Let’s revel in their good news and then follow them on Facebook:  https://www.suitupmaine.org/goodnews-bluewave-edition/

8.   "Crooks have found a new way to steal your mail. They're exploiting a free service from the United States Postal Service (USPS) that offers an early look at what's coming in the mail."  https://local12.com/news/nation-world/sign-up-your-address-for-usps-informed-delivery-before-scammers-do  Let's sign up for this service to protect our mail:  https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action

9.   “Trump thrives in areas that lack traditional news outlets,” Politico reports, based on its analysis of subscription data and election results. 
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/08/news-subscriptions-decline-donald-trump-voters-505605 Our democracy depends on a free, independent press. If we are able, let’s renew our newspaper subscriptions, and consider giving subscriptions as gifts this holiday season.

State Actions

1.    MI: State senator Tom Casperson has introduced Senate Bill 1197, which would authorize the construction of a utility tunnel between the upper and lower peninsulas, under the Mackinac Bridge Authority. This would make it much more difficult to prevent Enbridge from constructing yet another pipeline in our Great Lakes, something which is already in the works between Enbridge and Governor Snyder. Let's be sure to call our state senators, and especially for those of us in the 37th district, let's be sure to contact our senator, Wayne Schmidt, who has voiced his support of the tunnel in the past. We can find more information and talking points at Oil & Water Don't Mix.

2.   MI: The Michigan League for Public Policy is gathering support during Michigan's lame duck session to push for the bipartisan Raise the Age legislation. Right now, Michigan is one of only four states who automatically prosecute 17-year-olds as adults. Let's read through MLPP's article on why we need to push this legislation through, then head over to Raise the Age to read through talking points and see which legislation is included in the 18-bill Raise the Age package that is sitting in the House Law and Justice Committee. Then, let's be sure to contact our representatives and ask them to support this important legislation.

3.   MI: When Republicans in the state legislature passed legislation to increase minimum wage for tipped workers and provide paid sick leave, there was concern that they were doing so in order to remove the proposals from the November ballot, and then to amend the legislation after the election (https://www.freep.com/story/news/2018/09/05/minimum-wage-michigan/1202620002/). Those concerns have borne out; Senator David Hildebrand has introduced Senate Bill 1171 (http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2018-SB-1171), which would eliminate the provision that ensures tipped workers receive the same minimum wage as other, non-tipped workers. Let’s call these 5 Senators on the Michigan Senate Government Operations Committee and ask them not to pass  S.B. 1171 out of committee: Chairman Arlan B. Meekoff: (517) 373-6920, Geoff Hansen: (855) 347-8034, Mike Kowall: (517) 273-1758, Jim Ananich: (517) 373-0142, Morris W. Hood III: (517) 373-0090. 

4.   NY: Now that New York state is a Democratic trifecta, let’s push for voting reforms like early voting, automatic voter registration, pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, and voting rights for people on parole. Let’s get involved at Let NY Vote:  https://letnyvote.org/ .

5.   VA:  Virginia could be the 38th state out of 38 states needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which would finally provide a Constitutional guarantee of equal rights for women. https://www.npr.org/2018/11/18/669036449/virginia-could-be-the-state-to-give-women-equal-rights-nationwide. A bipartisan group of state lawmakers has come on board to press the issue, but this still must be brought to the legislature for a vote. Let’s make sure to contact our state legislators and express our support for ratifying the ERA.

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.    If we are interested in Electoral Politics. Movement Technology. Grassroots Organizing. Digital Strategy. Capacity Building, we can check out Roots Camp, where all of these facets of our movement meet.  Held from November 27-December 2 in Baltimore MD, it’s a chance to be a part of an “unconference” where participants design all sessions and leaders from all parts of the movement – organizers, campaigners, data directors, have a dynamic exchange of ideas. This year, they’re looking at how to practice a more inclusive politics and thinking about ways that we can transform our democracy so that our people win and collectively thrive. They’re interested in expanding understandings of what justice looks like for all our people, and equipping our leaders with the skillsets, tools, and frameworks to take this on and thrive. We can learn from one another, dream up new ideas, make lasting connections, and strengthen our networks. The conference aims to be inclusive, and there are several ways to defray the cost of attending. If we would like to find out more, including information about travel stipends, or volunteering in exchange for admission costs, we can check it out here: https://www.wellstone.org/events/rootscamp-2018

2.   EmpowerandHelp and The Swell Collective have gotten planning underway for a wellness and community engagement retreat for community organizers in April of 2019, venue and location TBD.  The retreat will give those of us in need an opportunity for a weekend away to focus on resilience building activities, personal intention and goal setting, and “in real life” collaborative social networking with others in the movement. We can sign up here to stay in the loop or get involved:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScYVFWZy-t1N0OcKknDdwegFnUpt-RQWzE7jrNpL74Nuj0Wew/viewform

Reading/Watching

1.    13 Dire Impacts Outlined in the New Climate Report - https://politicalcharge.org/2018/11/24/13-dire-impacts-outlined-in-the-new-climate-report/

2.    After Years of Taking Up Too Much Space, Trump Is Finally Small - https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/11/donald-trump-lies-clinton-comey-investigation.html

3.   New American Nazis: Inside the White Supremacist Movement That Fueled Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting - https://www.democracynow.org/2018/11/20/new_american_nazis_inside_the_white

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