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4/8/19 

Contact Federal Government Officials



1.       THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS: The House will consider ten (10) bills starting Monday.  Let's review the week's House agenda at The Weekly Leader. On Monday, the Senate will meet on Monday at 4pm for "a period of morning business." We can check out the Senate Floor Schedule daily so we know what our Senators' business will be.

2.      PUBLIC COMMENT NEEDED:  From one of our own:  Comments and actions week ending April 14, 2019 includes exposing miners to diesel exhaust, RoundUp comment period, definition of college credit hour, Nuclear power, ACA, Election integrity, Coal-fired plants, WOTUS, Energy efficiency standards, Volcker Rule, CFPB payday loans, extended comment SNAP program work requirement.  Let’s see where we can comment:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A0RLI7amJ3a7EfqiPApbllO75MvpzpWd/view

3.      CHILD SEPARATION:  Outrageously, the Department of Justice has let the courts know that it expects it to take up to two years to reunify children who were separated from their parents during the span of Trump’s inhumane policies:  
https://thehill.com/latino/437724-justice-department-says-it-could-take-two-years-to-identify-thousands-of-additional  Let’s let the Department of Justice know that this needs to be handled with the urgency of an Ebola breakout and the national cohesiveness of getting to the moon:  
https://www.justice.gov/contact-us  While we are doing this, we can also let them know that we expect the Mueller Report to be released without further delay.

4.      SHARING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY WITH SAUDI ARABIA: There has been growing concern among both Democrats and Republicans on the administration’s sharing of nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia.  https://thehill.com/policy/international/437649-secrecy-behind-saudi-nuclear-talks-infuriates-congress. Bipartisan bills have been introduced in Congress that would require Congressional approval for these actions. Let’s call our MoCs and ask them to support S.612/H.R.1471, the Saudi Non-Nuclear Proliferation Act of 2019.  We should not be helping the Saudis develop into a nuclear power.

5.      STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM: Even though Congress allocated $700 million to forgive loans for students who donated significant time to public service, the Department of Education has instituted myriads of confusing and unnecessary regulations to limit this program. To date, less than 1% of those who have applied have been successful. https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-student-loan-forgiveness-education-department-betsy-devos-20190403-story.html. Let’s tell the Department of Education (800-872-5327; 202-401-3000; 400 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, D.C. 20202; betsy.devos@ed.gov)
that their job is to disburse these funds to the people who deserve them by enacting a simple, fair, and easy process. Let's also ask our MoCs what they can do.

6.      IMMIGRATION: CONGRESSIONAL ACCESS TO DETENTION FACILITIES: Three Florida Congresswomen were refused access to a detention facility in Homestead, FL, which is being expanded to house over 3,600 migrant children. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article228933679.html   Let’s remind the Department of Homeland Security (https://homelandsecurity.ideascale.com/), Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/homelandsecurity/), Twitter: (@DHS.gov) and the Department of Health and Human Services (202-205-5445; https://www.facebook.com/HHS/), Twitter: (@HHS.gov) that Congress is entitled to “unencumbered access to such facilities to conduct [their] constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities.” This particular facility, which is run by a private for-profit corporation and not subject to state regulators, has been criticized for its lack of health and safety standards. https://www.npr.org/2019/02/13/694175061/florida-shelter-is-scrutinized-for-the-way-it-handles-migrant-children.  And, to make matters worse, it is continuing to expand: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/homestead-nations-largest-holding-facility-for-migrant-children-expands-again/  Let’s also spread this story widely on social media, asking DHS and HHS what they are hiding.

7.     TAX DAY:  From Herd on the Hill: Legislation passed in 2018 contained big giveaways for corporations and millionaires, little benefit for regular working folks.  As April 15 approaches, send your members a letter about how changes to tax law have harmed you and your family; we'll walk it over to them, engage with staff about your concerns, and amplify your words on social media (no last names):  https://stampslicked.org/tax-day.

8.     CLIMATE CHANGE & ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY: “The world faces two existential crises, developing with terrifying speed: climate breakdown and ecological breakdown,” but the good news is that fixing one helps us fix the other (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/03/let-nature-heal-climate-and-biodiversity-crises-say-campaigners). Research suggests that 1/3 of the greenhouse gas reductions we need could be provided by ecosystem recovery, so let's tell our MoCs to align our legislative agenda with the UN's Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

9.      IMMIGRATION—LIFE-THREATENING MEDICAL NEGLECT AT THE BORDER: Every day, families fleeing violence, political instability, and extreme poverty are seeking asylum in the US and being placed in government detention, and then contracting terrible infections because of medical neglect. In the absence of a federal humanitarian response, makeshift clinics supported by burnt-out medical volunteers and tapped-out nonprofits are stepping in, but it is not enough. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/04/05/709965103/makeshift-volunteer-clinics-struggle-to-meet-medical-needs-at-the-border Let’s contact our MoCs and tell them to pass legislation that will bring federal humanitarian aid to the asylum-seekers at our border.

10.  TAXATION & POVERTY—Where in the US are you most likely to be audited by the IRS? In the poorest, blackest counties of the South, it turns out: https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/eitc-audit . Let’s tell our US Representative that we want the House Ways and Means Committee to investigate, with an eye toward passing reform legislation. Let’s also tell the same to the committee chair, Representative Richard Neal: https://waysandmeans.house.gov/contact .

11.   IMMIGRATION: From executing family separation at the border, to holding immigrants under bridges and in tent cities, to widespread sexual abuse in child detention centers, and conducting large-scale raids,, ICE and Border Patrol have been inflicting trauma on countless people. Still, the agencies see an increase in funding each year, particularly under the Trump administration. Indivisible has joined United We Dream and Detention Watch Network in the Defund Hate Campaign "to strengthen our communities by investing in education, housing, and health care programs that increase well-being, not bankroll xenophobic policies." Let's help by asking our MoC to restore ICE and Border Patrol funding to what they were at the end of fiscal year 2016. We can also check out Indivisible's Defund Hate page, where we will find more details and action items.

12. TRUMP TAX RETURNS: Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has said that the Democrats will “never” see Trump’s tax returns which is teeing up a court battle.  Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), one of only 3 Congress members authorized to do so, has asked the IRS to provide his committee with six years of Trump’s personal and some business tax returns by April 10th; a 1924 statute includes no exceptions to Neal’s authority, although it limits the review of those taxes to a “closed executive session” if the taxpayer refuses consent to the review:  https://www.apnews.com/94d053425cdd485f86fb4d65eb464911  Let’s remind Mulvaney that he works for we the people and that he is putting the president and their party above his duties to our nation: 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/  or at The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20500 Let’s also encourage our MoCs to back Neal’s request and let’s tell the IRS that we expect them to honor a clear legal demand:  IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig, 202-622-5000 or 1111 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington DC 20224

Elections

1.       APRIL ELECTIONS: “So far in April, there are 29 elections scheduled. If one of these is in 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 check this out:  https://politicalcharge.org/2019/03/28/elections-in-april-2019/

2.      NEW POSTCARDING CAMPAIGN: Postcards To Voters' Campaign 152: Juanita Charles for TN State Senate is now open. Early voting has already started for this April 23 election. Let's help Democrats flip TN SD22 blue by requesting 5 addresses for Tennessee voters today.

Other Actions

1.       PINE RIDGE FLOODING: The flooding in South Dakota hit the Oglala Sioux Tribe's Pine Ridge Reservation hard, in a place that is already struggling for adequate resources (https://n.pr/2TzUjZt). The Oglala Sioux Tribe has declared a state of emergency, but in order to receive assistance from FEMA, Governor Kristi Noem needs to request a Presidential Disaster Declaration. While the governor considers this option, we can visit Oglala Oyanke Relief, where we will find information on ways we can help, from donating items, to financial assistance, as well as volunteering. After we've done that, let's be sure to spread the word to raise awareness about the conditions in Pine Ridge. 

2.     END GOP GERRYMANDERING IN VA: In its campaign to elect a state government in VA that will draw fair election maps, the group Flippable https://flippable.org has endorsed its first two candidates: Delegate Dawn Adams (running for re-election in HD 68) and Delegate Wendy Gooditis (running for re-election in HD 10). Let’s choose one or more of these ways to support these candidates: (1) donate at https://flippable.org/our-targets/virginia/ , and/or (2) donate or otherwise get involved at:

3.      REDUCE CHILD DEATHS FROM UNSECURED HOUSEHOLD GUNS:  More than 2 million American children live in homes where guns are not stored securely, and every year over 700 children under 17 die from unintentional shootings and suicides. In response, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action have created a the Be SMART campaign to promote gun safety and reduce child deaths. http://aapdc.org/moms-demand-action-launches-be-smart-gun-violence-prevention-campaign/ . We can also check out the #NotAnAccident Index,  Everytown and Moms Demand Action’s interactive map that tracks every publicly reported incident in 2015 where a person age 17 or under unintentionally kills or injures someone with a gun.  We can click here to join the Be SMART campaign to reduce child deaths from unsecured guns:  http://besmartforkids.org/?

4.      POSTCARDING RESOURCES:  From one of our own:  Issues and Addresses for 4.7.2019:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tFVV4b3a_5vBVLvaygSz1SQdtPYlMVFfkMsTl9A8LkY/edit  Let’s use and share this. 

5.     DCCC:  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has made a deeply flawed decision that their “core mission” is protecting incumbents and "To that end . . . will not conduct business with, nor recommend to any of its targeted campaigns, any consultant that works with an opponent of a sitting Member of the House Democratic Caucus."  It was precisely progressive Democratic challengers to Democratic incumbents that got us representatives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, and they are fighting this blacklist-- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-congress/liberal-group-squares-off-with-us-democratic-leadership-over-challenging-incumbents-idUSKCN1RH2FA --as should we: 
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/436592-progressives-hammer-dccc-over-blacklist-targeting-primary-challenges or https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/campaign-consultants-frozen-out-of-dccc-money-create-the-blacklist   Let’s make our objections known both to our Democratic MoCs and to the DCCC: either at 202-863-1500, 430 S. Capitol St., SE, Washington DC 20003 or DCCC chair Rep. Cheri Bustos, 202-225-5905, 1233 Longworth House Off. Bldg, Washington DC 20515.

6.      AMY SISKIND'S WEEKLY LIST: 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, "Republicans rebuked Trump this week, failing to stand with him on his threat to close the U.S.-Mexico border and to come up with an alternative to Obamacare ahead of the 2020 election. " Let's review Week 125.

State Actions

1.       CA - LGBTQ LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: If  we have a proven track record serving our community, are accomplished in our career and  passionate about advocacy and civic engagement with LGBTQ-related issues, we still have time to check out and apply to Equality California ‘s Leadership Academy.  Whether we are running for office or seeking appointment to state, municipal and private sector boards and commissions, this academy, held on the weekend of June 22, has training for us. To learn more about Equality California and it’s over 20 year fight for justice in our state we can check out their website here:  https://www.eqca.org/If we are interested in the training, we can click this link, apply to Equality California‘s Southern California Leadership Academy by Friday, May 31, and join the next generation of openly LGBTQ leaders. https://www.eqca.org/eqcai-leadership-academy

2.      NC - SPECIAL ELECTION FOR CONGRESS: Following the Republican voter fraud scandal in the Nov 6, 2018, 9th congressional district race, a special election will be held September 10, 2019. The district includes Mecklenburg, Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, Robeson, Bladen, and Cumberland counties. The only Democrat running in the primary is Dan McCready. He’s a Marine Corps veteran and a small business owner who favors accessible, affordable heath care, gun safety, protection for Dreamers and immigration reform, a woman’s right to choose, and more. Let’s gain another blue seat in Congress by getting involved with his campaign: https://www.danmccready.com/

3.      PA- SHUT DOWN BERKS DETENTION FACILITY:  From Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden:  The Grannies were able to join in on the monthly vigil outside Berks Detention Center in Reading PA at the beginning of our Caravan to the border last summer. Please support the people of Berks County and the families imprisoned at the Detention Center:   https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefLabhQKka_Bo9XK7Op33GfbcHwb_XcrZlgUbwSHTNmmTo6w/viewform?fbclid=IwAR0QwJ3Ne9-8u42oosc3rX4C2IgT8E2_X5EiCvY8VPv2Rcg5YrhfJeqj8FU

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.       JUSTICE FOR IMMIGRANTS—ACCOMPANIMENT TRAINING: “The New Sanctuary Coalition accompaniment program recruits and trains volunteers to accompany people facing deportation to their immigration hearings and ICE check-ins. This provides moral support to the person facing deportation and enables volunteers to hold immigration authorities accountable.” There’s a training in New York City on April 11. If we’re in NY, let’s sign up: https://www.newsanctuarynyc.org/accompaniment_training

Reading/Watching


1.       The Democratic debate over filibuster reform, explained - https://www.vox.com/2019/3/5/18241447/filibuster-reform-explained-warren-booker-sanders

2.      What controversy around Biden’s behavior says about shifting social norms - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-controversy-around-bidens-behavior-says-about-shifting-social-norms

3.      FBI Director Broke With Trump And Said White Supremacy Is A “Persistent, Pervasive Threat” To The US - https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/fbi-director-white-supremacy-threat



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