Week 55 Action Items

[Actions for Americans]

Hi all!

Unfortunately, the Senate voted for a tax bill on Friday night that will hurt millions of Americans. The good news is that your calls made a difference in many of the details of the Senate bill. For example, your calls removed changes to student loan interest deduction and changes to how graduate students' tuition waivers are taxed. Last week was tough, but without all of your calls and actions, this bill would have been even worse than it is now. Without all of your actions this year, we would have had many more awful weeks, and they would have come much sooner. Today, the ACA is still the law of the land, the Office of Governmental Ethics hasn't been gutted, and there are no new discriminatory laws on a federal level. Let's take this moment to realize the power of We, the People, and keep working for a country dedicated to liberty and freedom for all. We will keep fighting!

Useful resource for finding your elected officials (save the numbers in your phone!!): myreps.datamade.us

Tips on effective communication with elected officials, see Chapter 4 Opportunity 4: Indivisible Guide: Local Advocacy Tactics that Work

1. Call your MoCs and tell them how mad you are that they just voted to raise taxes, increase premiums, and leave 13 million people uninsured

Now the Senate and House have to "go to conference" to reconcile the two versions of the tax bill into one. So there is STILL TIME to effect change on the details of the bill. One key difference is that the Senate bill removes the individual requirement to have health care insurance. Without healthy people in the market place, insurance companies raise premiums on the rest of us to help cover costs for folks with pre-existing conditions. The individual requirement is how we are able to get ALL Americans covered, and before the ACA, many Americans couldn't get health insurance at all. Not that insurance was prohibitively expensive - there were no insurers who were willing to give them ANY insurance. We cannot go back.

For more: Trumptaxscam.org - What now?

Read: Chicago Tribune: Senate Tax Bill Winners and Losers

Say: Call Scripts

Show up: Find a Tax Rally Near You

See how your MoCs voted: Senators ; Representatives

2. Volunteer to help Alabama elect Doug Jones to the United States Senate

By now we've seen how important every single vote is in the Senate. If Roy Moore's sexually predatory actions weren't reason enough to keep him out of the Senate, his extreme views on putting religion in politics, jaw dropping views on race and segregation, and lack of regard for freedom of speech are. Sign up to encourage Alabamans to GOTV - all from the comfort of your couch/desk/local coffee shop, or wherever is most convenient for you.

Sign up: Alabama GOTV Text-banking

Info on the Candidates: Moore's Political Positions ; Doug Jones on the Issues

3. Keep calling your MoCs to pass a clean DREAM Act

This week, Congress will need to pass a short term Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government before December 8. To pass the CR, they'll need Democratic votes, which gives Democrats leverage to protect Dreamers from deportation by passing the DREAM Act as part of the funding bill. The DREAM Act has bipartisan support - there are several Texas Republicans who support it even - so Congress must include a clean Dream Act in their spending bill.

For more: Indivisible Guide: Defend DACA 
Say: "Hi, I'm a constituent of Senator/Representative _____ and I'm calling today to find out their stance on the DREAM Act/American Hope Act."

If they support: "That's fantastic. Please thank the Senator/Representative for supporting a bill that is both good for business and the individuals it will support."

If they don't support: "Does the Senator realize that not passing this bill and revoking the DACA program is forecast to reduce our GDP by over $433 billion in the next decade? And that deporting these young, hard-working DREAMers would cost businesses $3.4 billion to replace them? The DREAMers that will be impacted have deep roots in this country and it's unwise and unconscionable that the Senator would support deporting them, especially those impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Please urge the Senator/Representative to reconsider their position on this important bill. If they don't, we will remember their shortsighted decision when they ask us for our vote. My zip code is _____."

4. Increase your community engagement

Calling your MoCs can feel deflating sometimes. If you're looking for other ways to up your engagement and long term impact, consider a few of the following:

• Become a deputy voter registrar
  
• Become a precinct chair
  
• Share your expertise on an issue with local neighborhood or activist groups
  
• Run for office, or encourage a friend, neighbor, or relative to run for office
• Volunteer for a candidate

For our Texans

1. Run for Something

The filing deadline to run for office is Monday, December 11. That's only a week away, and there are still several uncontested races in the Texas legislature. If you or anyone you know is interested in learning more, please contact me! Two high priority House races are HD 150 North of Houston, and HD 69 in Arlington. Both of the incumbents have no primary or Democratic challenger, and they are a part of the Texas Freedom Caucus which is an anti-equality, anti-immigration, anti-education group. These are the folks who blocked maternal mortality research bills. They have got to go!

For more: Qualifications and Overview of Texas House and Senate Positions 

See if your Rep or Senator is running unopposed: 2018 Texas Races

Map of Texas House Races: Red Districts have Uncontested Races with a Republican Incumbent

2. Contact candidates and help them get on the ballot

With the filing deadline approaching, many candidates still need help collecting the signatures that they need to file. Reach out to their campaigns and let them know you're ready to get to work!

Find candidates near you: 2018 Texas Races

Keep up the great work everyone! #2018iscoming!

Much love,

Marieke

@actionsUSA