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Contact Federal Government Officials


o   THIS WEEK:  The House will consider fourteen (14) bills this week starting Monday. On Wednesday, the House Rules Committee will take up concurrent resolution
      H.Con.Res.24, expressing the sense of Congress that the report of Special Counsel Mueller should be made available to the public and to Congress. Let's mark our calendars: this hearing will be broadcast live at 5pm ET on C-SPAN3. Let's review the week's agenda at The Weekly Leader  On Monday, the Senate will resume consideration of the nomination of Paul B. Matey to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit.  Alliance For Justice opposes Matey's nomination. We can read their report here. The Senate updates their schedule daily. We can check out the next day's events on the Senate Floor Schedule.

o   ADDITIONAL WALL FUNDING: President Donald Trump on Monday will request at least another $8.6 billion in funding to build more sections of a wall along the Mexico border, setting up a fresh battle with Congress less than one month after Trump declared a national emergency. The request will come as part of a broader proposal that would call for major spending cuts across a range of domestic government programs while seeking a large increase for the Pentagon. One senior administration official said the $8.6 billion in additional funding, combined with the money Trump is attempting to redirect with through national emergency declaration, would allow the White House to complete at least 722 miles of new barriers - a figure that has long been a White House goal. https://www.philly.com/politics/trump-demand-billions-us-mexico-border-wall-funding-congress-20190310.html  We need to let our governors, and MOCs know that we oppose any wall funding particularly at the expense of domestic government programs.  Feeding families and supporting citizens that have true emergencies is more important than a Wall built for vanity purposes.  

o   IMMIGRANT FAMILY DETENTION:  A pediatrician visited a family detention center in Texas and had this to say, “I can tell you that what I saw was like no summer camp I’ve ever been to. These women and children are in detention. What will we do about it?”   https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/03/05/doctor-sick-immigrant-children-border-detention-centers-captivity-conditions-column/3050522002/  He goes on to say, “detaining families together is not a solution to separating immigrant parents from their children. There are other safer options, like community-based alternatives, that are much more effective. We need the government to be willing to implement and fund them. I will continue speaking out on behalf of the immigrant children and families in federal custody until I see policy solutions that prioritize their health and do not worsen their suffering.”  Let’s join in his quest and ask our MoCs to start making positive changes for these families. 

o   NATIONAL SECURITY AND CORRUPTION:  Unfortunately, the swamp keeps getting swampier. The woman who used to own the “massage” parlor that was the location of Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft’s alleged crimes seems to be involved in a scheme to sell access to Trump at Mar-A-Lago to Chinese businessmen. Also, many photos emerged over the weekend of her with prominent Republicans: 
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/433342-founder-of-florida-massage-parlor-chain-reportedly-offered-chinese   This story has both national security and corruption implications and in any other administration would be a scandal of epic proportions. Let’s let our MoC know that the presidency of the United States is not a commodity and that our national security needs actual guardians.

o   VOTING BILL:  We knew it was coming, and now here it is. Lobbyists and corporations are siding with Mitch McConnell and the Senate GOP against HR 1, and no wonder, because the For the People Act slams the brakes on their dark-money clown car. https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/k-street-mounts-offensive-to-hr-1  https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/06/mcconnell-election-reform-bill-1207702 Let's tell our senators that we are average voters who are among the 82 percent of Americans who want to see legislation that takes money out of politics and ask them to demand that Senator McConnell take the bill seriously and bring it up for a floor vote, and/or to support Sen.Tom Udall's (D-NM) plan to introduce a companion bill to HR1. 

o   WOMEN’S HEALTH:  We all know that access to good information, family planning, birth control, and counseling are keys to low unwanted pregnancies and abortions.  With the US focusing on abortion and not the prevention of pregnancies, abortion rates are rising worldwide.  https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-03-04/abortions-rise-worldwide-when-us-cuts-funding-women-s-health-clinics-study-finds  Even when abortion is outlawed, we know what really is outlawed are safe abortions.  Let’s tell our MoCs that we need to be more proactive in helping to prevent pregnancies. 

o   PUBLIC COMMENT NEEDED:  From one of our own:  This week's list - two major items - the President's proposed "climate security panel" - still to be officially announced - to review and undo all the climate change work in government agencies, contradicting science. Former military and national security leaders wrote a letter to Trump this week pushing back.  The second major new item is that Dept of Interior has granted over 1600 waivers to regulations in place to stop another Deepwater Horizon spill. I posted an article from Union of Concerned Scientists about it. Oh, and they're taking comment about exposing miners to diesel exhaust. Here's the link to the list - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QtwNYffWssS42B_KJjjaJup829-7Spft  Let’s check the list and see where we can be effective.

o   DRONE STRIKES: The administration has just issued an executive order that revokes the Obama era guideline requiring the military to report civilian deaths caused by drone strikes in non-combat areas. https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-executive-order-stop-reporting-civilian-drone-strike-deaths-2019-3?. Let’s ask our MoCs to introduce legislation that would require the military to report these deaths, as they are required to do in combat areas.

o   GMO SALMON: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now allowing salmon that are genetically engineered to grow twice as fast as normal, arguing that the new GMO labeling law is sufficient in alerting customers to make their own food choices. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/08/fda-salmon-1253697 and https://www.apnews.com/1be7085378684f4990e240870e7c546c.  However, there’s nothing preventing this salmon from being served at restaurants without the knowledge of the general public, and the FDA allows GMO products to be labelled discreetly with QR codes. Let’s ask our local grocery stores not to sell this product and ask our MoCs to block this move until legislation is passed that requires all GMO salmon be identified in both grocery stores and restaurants. For more information on the health and environmental impacts of GMO Salmon, we can check out The Center for Food Safety.

o   SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY:  Once Trump insisted, he would “Save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without cuts,” but his budgets have consistently proposed reductions in the 60-year-old disability insurance program.  “Do you really think that Social Security disability insurance is part of what people think of when they think of Social Security?” Mick Mulvaney asked in 2017; “I don’t think so” he answered himself.  Although the number of recipients of SSDI has been declining since 2014, the average benefit is around $1199/month, and the application process a nightmare (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/6/16735966/social-security-disability-insurance), the current administration is determined both to cut SSDI and make it more difficult to obtain; the new regulation Trump and friends plan for 2020 would, without Congressional approval, allow SSDI to monitor social media to "catch" any SSDI recipient who appears less disabled than they claim:
 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/us/politics/social-security-disability-trump-facebook.html   These attacks on the privacy and the financial security of the disabled must stop.  Let’s tell the White House and our MoCs to protect disabled workers who have, like all of us, dutifully paid into Social Security throughout their working lives. 

Election/Voting

o   “So far in March, there are 22 elections scheduled. If one of these is your district, make sure you vote! For everyone else, please share this with your network to spread the word in order to increase awareness and turnout!” Let’s let  Political Charge tell us about them and then let’s help where we can:  https://politicalcharge.org/2019/02/28/elections-in-march-2019/

Other Actions

o   RELATIVE SENTENCES:  Given the seemingly lenient sentence Manafort got, there are now efforts to have others who have been sentenced to much longer time for less crime.  https://newsone.com/playlist/black-people-harsh-prison-sentences/  Take Crystal who voted while unaware that she was not eligible. She is currently serving at least five years.  Let’s ask Texas governor Greg Abbott to pardon Crystal:  https://gov.texas.gov/organization/financial-services/contact

o   HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY OPPORTUNITY:  Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is sponsoring a student essay contest for high school juniors and seniors. The topic is “What can the next generation do to counter these attacks and take action to protect the real meaning of religious freedom and prevent our country from moving backward?”  They are looking for well-written, well-researched and original student writing, 750-1000 words, supported by specific examples and/or sources. Cash prizes will be awarded, and the winning essay will be published in AU's monthly magazine. We can find out more about the topic and rules here. The entry deadline is May 1. Let's tell the young writers and teachers in our lives about this opportunity.

o   CONTINUING CHANGES:  Experts in authoritarianism advise us to keep a list of things subtly changing around us, so we’ll remember.  Amy Siskind is keeping that list for us.  Amy writes, "A shocking story by an NBC affiliate revealed U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has been keeping a database of journalists and other activists involved at the Southern border, the second list by the Trump regime targeting U.S. journalists that has been uncovered since Trump came into power." Let's review Amy Siskind's list Week 121.

o   CHELSEA MANNING: Chelsea Manning, the former Army private, is back in federal custody, jailed over her refusal to testify before a grand jury in a case involving WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. Let's read more at NPR. We can send letters only (no postcards or greeting cards) of support to: Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, A0181426, William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center, 2001 Mill Road, Alexandria VA 22314. (More information at the Chelsea Manning is Free Facebook page.)  

o   POSTCARDING: From one of our own:  This week’s issues and addresses for postcarding:    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Sy_muHL0BSzkhdULSvfc3iGFq4JIk1pgBoM4p6dc_kA/edit   Let’s get a fun group together and write postcards!

o   FACEBOOK SAFETY:  We who are Facebook users have all seen and have sometime taken part in what seem to be innocent quizzes.  “Two Ukrainian men used online quizzes to lure more than 60,000 Facebook users into installing malicious browser extensions that leaked their profile data and friends lists to offshore servers, according to a federal lawsuit filed by the company.”  https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/ukrainian-hackers-used-quizzes-to-leak-over-60k-facebook-users-data/articleshow/68342536.cms  As fun as these quizzes seem, let’s not participate. 

o   CLIMATE CHANGE:  Americans in the military, active duty and veteran status, tend to be more conservative than Americans generally. However, new research shows that belief in climate change and its disastrous effects is strong among military Americans, on par with that of all Americans (https://theconversation.com/veterans-are-concerned-about-climate-change-and-that-matters-110685). The American Legion (https://www.legion.org/contact), along with smaller state/local veterans/military advocacy groups, exist to voice the will of those who serve/served, so let's make sure that veterans’ organizations are aware of their constituents' view on this crucial national security issue!

o   ENVIRONMENTAL FUNDING For DIVERSITY GROUPS FLAWED: “Indigenous people and communities of color have historically seen the worst environmental degradation and biggest health risks from pollution, yet campaigns to protect the environment and fight climate change have often sidelined them. The mainstream movement has a well-documented diversity problem that is not quickly improving. As some Democrats propose a radical Green New Deal centered around 
o   justice and equity, backstage they’re facing a reckoning over the environmental movement’s homogeneity. Research repeatedly shows communities of color are more likely to be subjected to pollution. The parts of the country with dangerous, cancer-related air pollution have lower percentages of white residents, according to an analysis by the Intercept. At the same time, most environment and climate change funding goes to groups with white leaders. Research has shown 95% of the $60bn in annual foundation funding for all causes goes to organizations led by white people and 70 to 80% goes to those led by men, the Solutions Project notes.”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/10/environment-climate-change-movement-indigenous-minorities-sidelined  We must ask the groups we support to consider adding more members of color, women and Native Americans and take up environmental issues that affect these particular groups. We can also send some of our dollars to groups lead by more diverse people. 

o   ACTIVIST UPDATES:   If we want to stay up to date on how we can make our voices heard in Congress, we can sign up to get texts from Indivisible co- founders Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin.  All we do is text:  INDIVISIBLE to 977-79 for the latest updates, breaking news, calls to action and more.

o   CANDIDATE TRAINING:  If we know we have the ability to change our community, are looking for a place to start, and thinking about running for office, the National Democratic Training Committee invites us to their 30-day “Ready, Set, Run Challenge”. Each day in April, those who sign up will get one simple task to complete to set up our run for office. By the end of the month, we’ll receive a personalized syllabus and will be ready to launch our campaigns! We can find out more here:  https://blog.traindemocrats.orWg/run-for-office-challenge/

State Actions

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

o   CLIMATE CHANGE:  On Friday, March 15, there will be Youth Climate Strikes all over the world.  Let’s keep an eye on this site for updates of where and when we can attend and help:  https://www.youthclimatestrikeus.org/strikes

Reading/Watching

o   All the Legal Trouble in Trumpworld :  Robert Mueller may be the least of the president’s worries - https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/08/all-the-legal-trouble-in-trumpworld-scandals-trump/

o   The Disparity Between Manafort's Sentence And Other Crime Sentences - https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/701671554/the-disparity-between-manaforts-sentence-and-other-crime-sentences

o   Inside the unprecedented partnership between Fox News and the Trump White House - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/inside-the-unprecedented-partnership-between-fox-news-and-the-trump-white-house






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