Contact all members of Congress:
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ON FREE SCHOOL MEALS
Universal free school meals were one of the great pandemic success stories, feeding hungry kids at a time of economic instability and increasing test scores while providing a boost to America’s farmers for only $11 billion a year more than the pre-COVID school meal programs. While the program came to an end, states have stepped up in its wake, with Minnesota and New Mexico recently becoming the fourth and fifth states to make universal free school meals permanent. While California, Colorado, and Maine have already done so and Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Vermont have temporary programs in place, there is much more work to do. Let’s contact our state legislators and ask them to make sure our state is the next in line. Let’s also join More Perfect Union in urging our congressmen to pass the Universal School Meals Act on the federal level, and reach out to our members of Congress directly to ask them to support this bill or adding universal free school meals to the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization.STOP REPUBLICAN GAMES ON MILITARY PROMOTIONS
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has blocked the usually routine Senate approval of 160 senior military promotions in an effort to pressure the Pentagon into dropping new policies that assure those in uniform can access abortions. This comes at a time of significant global tension and includes officers with commands in areas in active conflict. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned Tuberville’s gamesmanship will harm national security, especially with multiple senior combatant commands coming open in the months ahead. Let’s contact our senators, especially those of us whose senators serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and let them know we want them to do whatever is in their power to move these promotions forward without selling out the rights of our troops.
FIREARMS NOW LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG YOUTH
Firearms have taken over as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents when the numbers overtook the deaths caused by car accidents. Over the years countless dollars and increased legislation have created safer vehicles and driving practices, both on the state and federal levels. It is time to do the same with guns. “By enacting simple laws that make guns safer and harder to get, we can prevent killings like the ones in Uvalde and Buffalo [and Nashville].” While the federal government has routinely supported vehicle safety research, it cut off gun safety research for 20 years. It was reinstated in 2019. Let’s ask our federal and state legislators what they are doing to help save these young lives from gun violence, then share what we learn.
TAX STOCK BUYBACKS AND ENCOURAGE ECONOMIC FAIRNESS
Corporate profits are at their highest level in decades, and corporations have used those profits for an unprecedented spree of stock buybacks. This is economic activity that primarily benefits corporate executives and wealthy shareholders where they could be cutting prices for consumers or investing in their workforce or infrastructure. Democrats are pushing to incentivize a stronger economy for everyone, with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introducing the Stock Buyback Accountability Act of 2023. This law would heed President Biden’s call for raising taxes on share repurchases, putting a 4% tax on buybacks. Let’s join Americans for Tax Fairness in calling on our Senators to co-sponsor this legislation, and urge our representatives to push for similar action in the House.
WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT JUDGE ELECTION NEXT TUESDAY
The daughter of the retiring conservative judge in Wisconsin, whose seat is up for election next Tuesday, April 4, has come out in support of Judge Janet Protasiewicz and not the conservative candidate. Ellen Brostrom, a judge herself, “argues court candidate Dan Kelly's role in a fake electors scheme to overturn the 2020 election makes him unfit for a seat on the court.” With that in mind, let’s do what we can to help them get out the vote for Judge Janet Protasiewicz, whether by a) phonebanking with the Wisconsin Democrats or Grassroots Dems HQ, b) texting with the Working Families Party or NextGen America, c) phonebanking and texting with the WI Human Rights Campaign, d) making calls to young voters with NextGen, e) texting with All On The Line Wisconsin, or f) chipping in to help Judge Janet get her message out. We can also ensure we get crucial votes from college students counted by joining the Campus Vote Project, the League of Women Voters and Common Cause and signing up to monitor polling locations on college campuses.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
CA: STOP POLICE USE OF FACIAL RECOGNITION
While proposed Assembly Bill 642 claims to protect against mass face surveillance, it actually gives police and tech companies permission to use it more skillfully. Face surveillance allows the government to track us without consent, which could endanger marginalized communities like Black people, poor people, immigrants, activists, women, and LGBTQ people. False identifications have already led to wrongful arrests and trauma for Black men, and the technology could lead to more police violence, incarceration, and deportations. We can read more about potential problems here, then we can click here to tell our Assemblymembers to vote NO on AB 642 and prohibit police from using facial recognition.
MO, SC, WA: GUNS LEGISLATION
If we’re in these states, let’s contact our state legislators and tell them:
South Carolina: Oppose H 3594, the so-called “South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2023,” which would allow people to carry firearms without a license.
Missouri: Oppose HB 282, which would end public transit as a gun-free zone and allow people to carry firearms on public transportation.
Washington: Support HB 1130, which would hold firearm sellers and manufacturers liable for the criminal misuse of their products.
March 30, 2023
Thank you, Sue, for compiling these action items all of us can take. With all the news happening, one can feel powerless. But getting your email gives me hope that by taking the actions you suggest, I am doing my part to make a difference. It's empowering !
~Terri H