Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
Things are happening, and fast. Redistricting, Texas lawsuits, debt ceilings, budgets, fires…it’s enough to make your head explode.
Fortunately emails like this show up in my inbox regularly. They help me feel centered, strong, and calm again.
I can’t recommend enough balancing out the (often scary) news with soothing, hopeful content. Write me if you need some recommendations. There are many people out there working to not terrify but rather bolster the troops. They are heroes doing work that is beyond valuable. I’d argue it’s critical.
I urge you to follow them. As they say in AA: “Go where it’s warm.” Such warmth and encouragement helps keep a person going…
Which means they’re around to fight. We need that.
Speaking of which, let’s get to work one more time! 💙
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I support fully funding the the Build Back Better plan at 3.5 trillion dollars. Congress can and should pay for it by closing the stepped-up basis loophole and approving the financial reporting requirements that President Biden wants banks to adopt so the IRS can more easily find and fine tax cheats. I want the Senator to support these provisions AND call for an end to the fossil fuel subsidies that are, right now, still in the plan.
Lastly, I support the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Freedom to Vote Act and expect the Senator to as well. [If Democrat add:] I want the Senator to support filibuster reform if necessary to get these two bills passed. They are that important to me. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I know the House is going to vote on the Build Back Better plan on Friday, and I know that so far the Ways and Means Committee has only approved 2.1 trillion of the 3.5 the President is asking for. This isn’t acceptable. Congress should allocate the full amount—there is nothing in the plan we don’t desperately need—and we can pay for it by closing the stepped-up basis loophole and approving the financial reporting requirements that President Biden wants banks to adopt so the IRS can more easily find and fine tax cheats. We should also get rid of fossil fuel subsidies. Congress needs to include all of these provisions and get this done.
One more thing: I want the Congressmember to support the Women’s Health Protection Act when it comes up for a vote this week. Thanks.
Extra Credit
It’s almost zero hour for both the Build Back Better Plan and our climate. Let’s call:
Chuck Schumer (Majority Leader): (202) 224-6542 or (518) 431-4070 and
Ron Wyden (Senate Finance Committee Chair) : (202) 224-5244 or (503) 326-7525 and say:
Hello, my name is [name], and I'm calling Senator [Schumer/Wyden] to urge him to ensure that all fossil fuel subsidies — both domestic and international — are eliminated in the budget reconciliation package. Our public money shouldn’t be going to subsidize the biggest polluters on the planet, and a commitment to environmental justice means ending these egregious giveaways to Big Oil CEOs. Thank you.
Get Educated! 📚
From the Indivisible Truth Brigade:
Propaganda, false characterizations, intentionally misleading messages, and outright lies threaten our democracy and even our lives. We can effectively combat disinformation, despite the well-funded machines that drive it. They may have money, but we have truth and we have people. People believe sources they trust. When we share and amplify unified, factual messages to those who trust us, we shift the narrative. When we do this by the thousands–we’re part of the Indivisible Truth Brigade, and we get our country back. Join us.
This Wednesday the Truth Brigade will be discussing Vaccine Mandates and how to defend them. They’ll offer great ways to promote improved, consistent messaging across a number of platforms. Sign up for the Brigade HERE and for Wednesday’s Zoom webinar HERE. (It’s at 6:30pm EST).
[H/T Small Deeds Done]
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here!)
[to your House rep] [H/T]
I’m writing to ask you to vote to fully fund President Biden’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan. Like the president proposed, I want it paid for by making the rich and corporations pay their fair share of taxes.
Last year, 55 of America’s biggest corporations paid no federal income taxes. Worse, during the pandemic while tens of millions suffered, the wealth of America’s 700 billionaires rose by $1.8 trillion, or 62%. That’s enough to pay for more than half of the president’s ten-year Build Back Better plan. Instead of continuing tax breaks for huge corporations and tax loopholes for the rich, let’s grow our economy and create jobs by investing in roads and bridges, clean energy, and education, and by making healthcare, prescriptions, childcare, eldercare and housing affordable.
This $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan will do this.
The House Ways and Means tax plan raises just $2.1 trillion of the $3.5 trillion President Biden proposed. More needs to be done: Congress must close the stepped-up basis loophole. It needs to fully close the loopholes that allow multinational corporations to dodge tens of billions of dollars a year in U.S. taxes by shifting profits to offshore tax havens. It needs to approve the financial reporting requirements that President Biden wants banks to adopt so the IRS can track the money that’s flowing in and out of the bank accounts of the rich but is not being reported on their taxes. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess