Chop Wood, Carry Water 5/13
People power will prevail!
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
I’m trying to get this newsletter out quickly this morning so I’m (really) going to be brief. I have a doctor’s appointment to get to and then I need to rush back home for a Substack Live at noon PT with Andrea Ducas, the vice president of Health Policy at Center for American Progress. It’s going to be great! Andrea leads CAP’s efforts related to health care and public health, so she’s the ideal person with whom to talk about Republicans’ attacks on Medicaid and what they’ll mean for all of us. You can read more about her here.
Please come, and please bring your questions, as I intend to leave plenty of time for them. Again, it’s at noon PT / 3PM ET today, so set a reminder! When the time comes just open your Substack app and it should pop up.
In the meantime I offer you this partial newsletter so you can at least call your House representatives about this awful bill!
More soon, all. Thanks!
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m calling to ask the representative to oppose the budget reconciliation bill and its devastating cuts to vital government programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
I’m also very concerned about… [PICK 1-3 additional budget provisions]
the cuts to student aid
the cuts to federal worker retirement benefits
the defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
the roll back of green energy grants
the partisan attack on federal regulations
the defense department’s handouts to Elon Musk
the limit on federal judges’ ability to hold the Trump administration accountable.
Congress should pass a fair and responsible budget that helps working families and communities, not one that slashes our benefits to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Thank you. [H/T 5 calls]
Extra Credit ✅
If your representative serves on the House Ways and Means Committee (members list here), Americans for Tax Fairness is asking you to call their DC office and urge them to be proactive about taxing the ultra-wealthy during today's markup of the GOP tax bill.
US Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121
If you are represented by a Republican on the commitee, tell them that you strongly oppose cutting public services so that the ultra-rich can get another tax cut. Instead, we could extend the 2017 tax cuts for millions of low- and middle-income households just by passing a modest millionaires surtax. [See details below my signature line!]
If you are represented by a Democrat on the committee, tell them you expect them to be bold about the need to affirmatively increase taxes on the ultra-rich (not just oppose new tax cuts). Taxing the ultra-rich is the only way to address the harms that extreme wealth hoarding is unleashing right now for our democracy, our climate, our health, and our way of life.
Get Smart! 📚
Safe, secure, and abundant food is essential to the economy and the quality of life Americans expect and children deserve. Programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Farm to School grants, and food inspection and safety standards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have bolstered the abundance, availability, and quality of America’s food supply.
The Trump administration’s disastrous funding cuts to food programs across the country are putting America’s health and economy at risk.
Please join the Center for American Progress for a virtual discussion with farmers, food bank leaders, and food accessibility and affordability advocates to learn more about how the Trump administration’s funding cuts will affect farms and families across the country.
Thursday, May 15, 1-2 PM ET
Give 💰!
The wonderful Robert Hubbell is hosting a Today’s Edition event to support the work of Democracy Docket on May 14 at 5:00 pm Pacific / 8:00 pm Eastern. Please join him as he interviews the premier voting rights litigator in the nation, Marc Elias.
The registration link is here (Register for Democracy Docket Event).
If you are not familiar with Democracy Docket, it is the leading digital news platform dedicated to delivering information, analysis and opinion about voting rights and elections in the courts. Democracy Docket was founded by Marc Elias in 2020 to help track and explain cases that matter to our efforts to defend democracy.
From Robert:
You can join me in supporting Democracy Docket’s mission and register for the event on May 14 in two ways:
First, if you can, become a new Premium Member of Democracy Docket by clicking on the link (Register for Democracy Docket event). New members who use this link will automatically be registered for the event on May 14.
Second, if you are already a Premium Member or don’t have the bandwidth or resources to become a Premium member, you can make a one-time donation at the link (Register for Democracy Docket event).
We understand that the economic shocks caused by tariffs and government cuts have made everyone more cautious about finances, so in coordination with Democracy Docket, the minimum donation has been set at a (hopefully) modest amount that raises money for Democracy Docket while allowing attendees to reserve a spot for the event (which we expect to be sold out). Of course, Democracy Docket welcomes larger one-time donations, which will support Democracy Docket’s important work.
When the history of this period is written, Marc Elias will be recognized as one of its true heroes. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Marc describe the important work of Democracy Docket and comment on the battle to save democracy. It should be an informative and inspiring event! I hope you can join Marc and me!
Save Medicaid!
Republicans have finally unveiled the details of their plan to gut Medicaid to pay for billionaires’ tax breaks, so Indivisible is joining a call with Working Families Power and allies nationwide to lay out the next steps to stop them -- with actions and takeaways you can put to use right away.
Join the mass call this Thursday, May 15, at 8pm ET / 5pm PT to launch the next phase in our fight against Medicaid cuts.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T
] [Text SIGN PIQXHS to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]This is very simple: Donald Trump cannot be allowed to take a $400 million “gift” from Qatar’s royal family. Congress needs to put a stop to this immediately, and we need a full independent investigation with both congressional hearings and the appointment of a special counsel. We need to know what Trump agreed to do for a foreign government in exchange for this “flying palace.” We need to know whether this deal violates bribery laws or the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. And we need to know exactly how taxpayer-funded lawyers at the Department of Justice and the White House counsel’s office decided this was okay, especially in light of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s history as a lobbyist for Qatar. From the Founding Fathers on, Americans have made it clear we do not want our leaders to be for sale to the rest of the world. Right now, the White House is up for auction to the highest bidder. You would have to be a complete sucker to believe that Qatar is giving our president a luxury jet out of the goodness of their hearts. This is blatant corruption, right out in the open. Congress cannot stand by and let it happen. Act, or be complicit.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
For the first time in over a week, I actually talked to a staffer in my rep's office instead of leaving a message. Keep up the good work!
Message from the ACLU
"In an apparent effort to aid President Trump’s discriminatory clamp down on free speech, Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee have snuck a dangerous anti-dissent bill into their massive, new tax package.
This provision would grant the executive branch the power to effectively shut down any non-profit organization – including news outlets, universities, and civil liberties groups – by accusing them of “supporting terrorism” and using that accusation to suspend their tax-exempt status without any real due process.
It was defeated last year, yet politicians are now trying to resurrect it once again. We've already seen the Trump administration conflate students protesting in support of Palestinian rights with Hamas, deport immigrants to an El Salvadorian prison without due process, and detain students thousands of miles away from their loved ones for criticizing U.S. foreign policy. It isn't a stretch to imagine how this bill could be used to pressure universities to shut down student groups and scare human rights organizations away from working with vulnerable communities. Tell your Representatives to remove the provision threatening nonprofits from the tax bill."