Contact
Federal Government Officials
Fax legislators
for free:
Or use Resistbot: https://resist.bot/
Or use StampsLicked to have messages
hand-delivered to our own legislators: https://stampslicked.org/
White House
contact: https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/white-house
1. This
week in Congress: The House will consider seventeen (17)
bills this week. The new Majority Leader's Schedule has not yet been updated
but we can review these bills on GovTrack.us. On Monday, the Senate will resume
consideration of the motion to proceed to S.1,
the Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act. (Source: Senate Floor Schedule)
According to this
update at GovTrack.us this bill is
provisionally dead due to a failed vote for cloture on January 10, 2019. We can
check the Senate Floor Schedule daily for updates for the next day.
2. This
weekend was a roller-coaster news cycle with the New York Times breaking a
story about the FBI opening a counterintelligence investigation against Trump
(after he fired Comey) to explore whether he is a Russian asset and the
Washington Post following up with a story about Trump’s efforts to block
sharing content of his private meetings with Putin including taking an
interpreter’s notes. Needless to say, Trump is reacting about as well as
expected: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/12/trump-tweets-fbi-russia-new-york-times-james-comey So,
yes, the question has formally been raised as to whether the POTUS is a Russian
asset. If we have Democratic MoC, let’s ask them to stay strong and speak out.
If we have Republican MoC, let’s be in touch straight away to say that now is
the time to decide which side of history they intend to be on and that we
expect them to fulfill their oaths. For all our preparatory efforts in the
event of Mueller’s firing, it does seem like we have reached a critical schism.
3. As
of press time on Sunday, the government shutdown continues with no end in
sight: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shutdown/government-shutdown-breaks-record-with-no-end-in-sight-idUSKCN1P60J1 It
is now the longest government shutdown on record and 800,000 of our fellow
citizens (and their families) are suffering because of it. In light of the
Russia news over the weekend, it is easy to see Trump’s chaos in a different
light. Let’s particularly be in touch with our Republican Senators (if we have
any) to say that the time to stand up to Mitch McConnell is already in the
rear-view mirror and we expect them to take action – their constituents are
hurting. If we have Democratic Senators, let’s ask them to stay resolute.
4. “Senators
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal
(D-Conn.) today led a group of senators in introducing the Assault
Weapons Ban of 2019 [S.66], an updated bill to ban the sale,
transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons and
high-capacity ammunition magazines.” https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=EFC76859-879D-4038-97DD-C577212ED17B Let’s make sure our senators are co-sponsors
to this important legislation.
5. Senator
Jon Tester (MT- D) gave a powerful speech last week regarding the shutdown
which calls out his Republican colleagues for their obstruction: https://www.c-span.org/video/?456789-14/senator-tester-government-shutdown Let’s
thank Senator Tester for his clarity: https://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=offices
6. James
Hines of Sierra Club has reported, “I just got off the phone with several of
the executive staff at the U.S. Dept of the Interior which oversees the
National Park Service and other federal land management agencies. They tell me
that the White House wants to keep America's national parks closed and not
staffed for as long as possible. The reason is that this will allow mining and
oil drilling companies to set up their operations in our national parks without
any national park service personal oversight How sad is this, using America's
national parks as a political game to get what the extraction industry both
domestic and foreign companies to get what they want. @POTUS open and staff
America's national parks.” Despite the shutdown, the Dept. of the Interior
continues to issue permits: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/12/us-oil-drilling-government-shutdown-trump-administration Let’s make sure that our MoCs know that this
is not how we want this to play out.
Save our national parks!
7. Seven
Republican Congressmen (yes, they were all men!) voted against allowing federal
workers to receive backpay after the shutdown is over. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/424942-the-7-republicans-who-voted-against-back-pay-for-furloughed-government-workers.
If we live in their districts, (or perhaps, even if we don’t) let’s make sure
to contact Reps. Justin Amash
(Mich.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Paul
Gosar (Ariz.), Glen Grothman
(Wis.), Thomas Massie
(Ky.), Chip Roy
(Texas) and Ted Yoho (Fla.)
and express our disgust at their insensitivity to American workers. Let’s also
remind ALL our Republican MoCs that we are holding them completely responsible
for blocking and/or voting against legislation that would re-open the
government.
8. Former
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke planted a kind of bomb before losing his job. His
appointee to the Interior Department's office for Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) requests, a Koch brothers crony named Daniel Jorjani, is quietly trying
to enact new rules that would allow the department to simply ignore
many FOIA queries (https://www.outsideonline.com/2380381/interior-department-foia-record-access-change).
Transparent government requires honoring the FOIA, and even if the
management of our public lands isn't our biggest concern right now, rest assured
that these proposed rule changes are a trial balloon, one that other government
agencies will mimic if we don't challenge them now. Public comment is being
accepted until January 28, and response thus far has been lackluster, so let's
light 'em up!
9. Attorney
General nominee William Barr has a troubling history of discrediting the rights
of whistleblowers. He’s written that they are “an encroachment on executive
power” and a threat to the executive’s constitutional authority. https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/425096-william-barrs-troubling-history-with-whistleblowers.
Let’s make sure to ask our Senators to insist that Mr. Barr clarify his
position and commit to taking the Justice Department’s role in litigating
claims of fraud against taxpayers seriously, including allegations of fraud by
government entities, should he be confirmed as Attorney General. Crooked Media’s What a Day from last Friday includes
additional warnings about Barr: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lxg5kZsr_6A1qQEiNqN7VxMH3yoLpH5hEQqepNUwnpM/edit?usp=sharing
10. “Thousands
of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides to live in the
United States were approved over the past decade, according to government data
obtained by The Associated Press. In one case, a 49-year-old man applied for
admission for a 15-year-old girl.” https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/apnewsbreak-us-approved-thousands-child-bride-requests-60307255 These were all legal. Let’s ask our MoCs to amend The Immigration
and Nationality Act to protect these young girls.
11. “With
the partial government shutdown on the verge of becoming the longest in U.S.
history, many housing advocates fear thousands of low-income Americans are at
risk of being evicted. More than 1,000 government-backed housing contracts have
already expired and potentially more will do so in the coming weeks. Since the
shutdown began last month, approximately 1,150 federal rental assistance
contracts have not been renewed due to funding lapses at the Department of
Housing and Urban Development. These lapses impact Project-Based Rental
Assistance agreements between private property owners and the federal
government. These landlords are contracted to house low and very low-income
residents. The property owner charges tenants modest rents and HUD kicks in
subsidies to make up the difference.” The
only “crisis” is the one that trump is creating by not signing a bill passed by
the House that he promised his GOP Senators he would sign. Tell
trump to stop the #trumpshutdown.
12. The
Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has called for the removal of Representative
Steve King (R-IA) from his committee assignments for his recent statements
questioning why white supremacy is considered racist.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/425063-congressional-black-caucus-calls-for-steve-king-to-be-removed-from-committees Let’s
contact our US House Reps and tell them that we support the CBC’s stance on
King and demand that he be removed from his committee assignments.
13.“Mexican
authorities uncovered another tunnel in Nogales, Sonora — across the
border from Nogales, Arizona — which they suspect was used to smuggle drugs and
people across the U.S.-Mexico border. It's the third time they have made
such a discovery in less than a month, and comes amid President Donald
Trump's demand for funding to build more physical barriers along the
U.S.-Mexico border. However, the vast majority of the drugs that he alludes to,
including heroin, are increasingly caught at the legal ports of entry, which
would be unaffected by the construction of additional physical barriers.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/amid-border-wall-debate-third-drug-tunnel-found-in-less-than-a-month-along-arizona-border/ar-BBS8b6P We already know that a WALL can be crossed in
many different ways. Technical security and more personnel is a better solution
than a WALL. We need to keep the pressure on our senators, governors and
call the WH and tell Trump, NO WALL, there are better solutions.
14. From
one of our own: We have a second chance
to object to including the citizenship question on the Census by January 27.
Submit comments and recommendations to 2020_Census_Comments@ omb.eop.gov or
fax to (202)395–5806. You can keep it short and just say that the primary
purpose of the US Decennial Census is to count all people as required by the
constitution and adding a question on citizenship will make the data less
reliable because people won’t return the form, will leave non-citizens off, or
will lie.
15. From
one of our own: [for other public comment info] This week in gov't shutdown - federal
sites aren't being updated, including regulations.gov, and public meetings to
discuss regulations are on hold though open comment periods are still working.
Regulations.gov directs you to look instead to Federal Register, which I did -
looking specifically for the Medicaid State block grants threat (reduces
funding) and the redefinition of The Waters of the United States - I searched
by docket # and found nothing new, really - though some news articles. Here's
this week’s list: https://drive.google.com/open?id=16TnPvadqccwDtFLcn0DFIfsveio4mwM-
16. “A
federal government shutdown might seem like a great way to save money: When
agencies aren’t open, they aren’t spending tax dollars. But history shows us
that closing the government actually costs more than keeping it open. Shuttered
parks can’t collect entrance fees. Furloughed workers will ultimately get paid
for not showing up to work. And the government will wind up having to pay
interest on missed payments to some contractors.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/09/us/politics/shutdown-government-costs.html Let’s
get the country moving again. Let’s call the WH and tell them we can’t afford
this shut down, it costs us all too much!
Election/Voting
Other
Actions
1. From one of our own: The Mobile Medical team [of Immigrant Justice Now] in
Tijuana requested chewable multi-vitamins for all the malnourished children
that are waiting for their asylum request numbers to be called by CBP. They
will then have to enter the frigid ICEBox for 5-7 days as their claims are processed.
Immigrant Justice Now is using some of your
donations to make this cruel process less harmful. We are helping to
build their immune systems & going to give them thermal underwear sets
& thermal socks to wear as they enter our immigration system. Please donate
to help us bring dignity & humanity to this malicious immigration process,
even $5 will make a difference:
2. NSA Whistleblower Reality Winner has the
opportunity to take a full load of college courses this Spring from prison.
Toby Annika Blauwasser has organized a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help with
Reality's tuition and books. They have a goal of $3000, We can check it out here.
If they have not yet reached their goal, let's contribute if we are able. We
can stay up to date on Reality by following the FaceBook
group "Friends of Reality Winner".
3. While it should be no surprise to us that Trump
continues to make his case for a border wall by spreading lies and
misinformation, many people believe in the underlying stereotypes he’s
perpetuating about immigrants. Let’s make sure to fortify ourselves with facts
when talking to friends, acquaintances, or family members who are being swayed
by commonly held beliefs by reading this important article from pbs that
summarizes the government’s own data about drugs, terrorism, and illegal
immigration. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-says-theres-a-crisis-at-the-border-heres-what-the-data-says.
4. The brutal murder of journalist and US resident Jamal
Khashoggi happened over 100 days ago. “An
independent investigation into the murder by a credible international body will
help to ensure separation from the political interests of any individual
country, and will form a stronger basis for eventual accountability for his
death.” Let’s sign this joint letter to UN
Secretary-General António Guterres calling for an immediate investigation into
the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi: https://pen.org/justice-for-jamal/
5. Facing History and Ourselves
whose mission is to “to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an
examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the
development of a more humane and informed citizenry”, has a number of resources
we can use if we are middle or high school teachers, or we can share with
teachers we know. Let’s check them out
here: https://www.facinghistory.org/educator-resources/current-events
6. From one of our own: If we are looking for a good place to start
with our postcarding group this week, here’s one to check out: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UWqvgzEEF3mCQ0nvuYj1BnBGqR9-iTgj0U-F5Cz_E9Y/edit
State
Actions
1. CA: If sharing our address could put us in
life-threatening danger, we may be eligible to register to vote
confidentially. For more information, we can contact the Safe at Home
program at (877) 322-5227 or
visit www.sos.ca.gov/registries/safe-home/ We can share this with our friends on social
media.
2. KY: Representative Jim Glenn needs our help. The
House did not officially seat him on the first day of the 2019 Session,
choosing to give credence to the objection of the losing candidate. Glenn
won his election in Owensboro over opponent DJ Johnson by one vote, a result
that’s been certified twice. Rather than accept both the county clerk and the
State Board of Election certifications of Glenn’s victory or the will of the
people of his district, House leadership convened a committee to hear the
election contest filed by losing candidate DJ Johnson. Here’s what Jim
needs us to do: call our state representatives at 1-800-372-7181 and tell them
to vote to accept the findings of both the County Board of Elections and the
State Board of Elections who certified Rep. Glenn as the winner of the election
in the 13th House District. We cannot let this go unanswered. The stakes
are too high. Let’s call our state reps now at
1-800-372-7181. Rep. Glenn needs us!
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms
to attend/organize
1. The Indigenous Peoples March will be held on
Friday, January 18, in Washington, D.C.
We can find more information here:
https://indigenouspeoplesmovement.com/
2. Another Women’s March is coming up. Whether we align ourselves with March On, or
Women’s March Alliance,
or WoMen
for All, or with no group at all, we have an
opportunity to make history and march once again on Saturday, January 19, 2019. Let’s check with our favorite organization or
local group and find out how we can help.
Reading/Watching
1. Ten
Counterproductive Behaviors of Well-Intentioned People: Common mistakes made in social justice
conversations and how to correct them
- https://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/ten-counterproductive-behaviors-of-well-intentioned-people-20160217
2. Where Does Illegal Immigration Mostly Occur?
Here's What The Data Tell Us - https://www.npr.org/2019/01/10/683662691/where-does-illegal-immigration-mostly-occur-heres-what-the-data-tell-us
3. The Exceptions to the Rulers: When people of color enter elite spaces,
they’re often attacked as undeserving charlatans. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is
no different - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/why-conservatives-cant-stop-talking-about-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/579901/
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