Actions

Actions

Members of Congress

Updated Apr 23, 2018

šŸ”· We had a really good Group Meeting Saturday. Thank you to everyone who turned up and engaged in discussion and careful listening on a variety of topics. Thank you to Linda C for the delicious pound cake and Morwenna P for taking Meeting Notes. Thereā€™s lots of good info in there for anyone who wants to be engaged with the important work weā€™re doing.

šŸ”· Speaking of important work, you might have noticed that May 6th will mark 6 months until the November Mid-term elections. We were despondent in 2016 knowing it would be 2 long years before we could make a meaningful, positive change to our representation. So we persisted through a horrible 2017 and find ourselves today, poised to flip districts all around the country. But it wonā€™t happen without a lot of hard work, and IE needs to be part of that. Weā€™re launching a ā€œcampaignā€ to host 4 electoral events per month for the next 6 months – Voter Registration, Postcard Writing, Canvassing and more. Weā€™ll need volunteers, but also need a catchy name to get it started, and hereā€™s where you can help us today. Please fill out the ā€œName Indivisible Eastside’s Electoral Pushā€ online poll to choose among brainstorming ideas, or offer your own. Thank you for your help!

šŸ”· Here are your four actions for this week (you can click on the Action title to join our partner Take Action Network – and track your actions there)

Action 1 ā€“ [EPA] ā€“ Support the Clean Power Plan (deadline: April 26)

From Jan Keller/NRDC page

The Clean Power Plan, unveiled in 2015, establishes the first-ever nationwide limits on carbon pollution from power plants. It is the most significant measure to address climate change that our country has taken so far. It also protects air quality near power plants. The EPA’s proximity analysis concludes that a higher percentage of minority and low-income communities live near power plants when compared to the national averages.

Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration have been trying to roll back the Clean Power Plan since last fall. Mayors and many other officials are strongly opposed.

Send in your comment now to oppose the repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Deadline: April 26. If you only have a minute, you can simply use the NRDC petition. For more impact, write or assemble comments based on the suggestions below, and submit them by going to https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355 and clicking Comment Now!

NOTE: the comment form does NOT have a section where you state you who you are. So, for more impact, state your name and city/state in your comment.

EXAMPLE OF OPENING

My name is [NAME] and I am a U.S. citizen living in [CITY, STATE]. I am concerned about clean air and our climate because ______________.

INTRODUCTION (CHOOSE ONE OR WRITE YOUR OWN):

I strongly oppose all attempts to revoke or weaken the Clean Power Plan.

I oppose all efforts by the Trump administration to roll back or dismantle the Clean Power Plan.

EXAMPLES OF MIDDLE SENTENCES (CHOOSE A FEW; YOU DON’T NEED TO USE ALL):

The Clean Power Plan is a big step in the right direction: it puts national limits on carbon pollution from America’s existing power plants. It’s all too clear that carbon pollution has led to climate change and the increase of natural disasters devastating our country.

Revoking or weakening the Clean Power Plan would endanger American lives and the health of American communities.

Large majorities of Americans in both red and blue states are in favor of the Clean Power Plan. What all of us in these majorities want is swift implementation–and strengthening–of the protections to our air that are part of the Clean Power Plan.

The Clean Power Plan provides enormous public health benefits. The Clean Power Plan can prevent approximately 3,600 premature deaths, 90,000 childhood asthma attacks, and 300,000 missed school and workdays every year, once fully implemented.

America’s clean energy economy is where our true strength lies. The solar industry employed 200,000 people in 2016, with 31,000 new jobs added last year. U.S. wind facilities supply rural landowners with $222 million in revenue every year. That’s the direction we need to go!

EXAMPLES OF CLOSING SENTENCES (CHOOSE ONE AND/OR EDIT):

Do not put our environment and our children at risk: keep the Clean Power Plan strong, to protect clean air and a stable climate.

The protections of the Clean Power Plan are crucial–do not weaken or revoke them!

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

Action 2 ā€“ [KIRKLAND CITY COUNCIL] ā€“ Show Support for Gun Safety Resolution in Kirkland

Indivisible Kirkland Kenmore has been working hard with KirklandSafe, the City of Kirkland, and other stakeholders to create a gun safety resolution for our city.

If you are a Kirkland resident, here are four ways you can support this resolution, which was presented to the City Council on April 17th. Community support is what will make the Council take brave, bold action.

If you are NOT a Kirkland resident, please forward this to friends you have in Kirkland.

  1. Please write a letter of support for this proposal, which will be included in the packet we present to the Council.Ā  Weā€™ve created an easy template for writing your letter and provided some examples.Ā  It should only take you a moment and will really help our efforts with the Council.Ā Ā Go here to draft your letter and submit it.
  2. Attend the May 1st City Council meeting to support the proposed resolution.Ā  A room full of supporters would significantly bolster our request.Ā Ā The City Council meeting will be at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, May 1st at Kirkland City Hall.Ā  We will have several speakers presenting during ā€œItems from the Audience.ā€Ā  The Council will likely include a discussion and vote as agenda items during the body of the meeting.
  3. Sign our petitionĀ on Change.org, which demonstrates community support for a resolution on gun safety. Ā Gun Safety Resolution Support PetitionĀ 
  4. Forward this to Kirkland Friends

Action 3 ā€“ [US HOUSE & SENATE] ā€“ Tell our Members of Congress the DOJā€™s action is an unacceptable denial of due process for detained immigrants

From Indivisible Wallingford and Seattle Indivisible

The Justice Department has unilaterally ended the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) for immigrants in our immigrant legal system. Started in 2003 during the Bush administration, the LOP offers hour-long sessions that provide basic information on the immigration court system. These orientations are important because immigrants are not entitled to court-appointed lawyers, often donā€™t speak English fluently, and may not be familiar with the U.S. legal system. These trainings are often all people have to prepare them as they represent themselves in court.

Locally the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) funded four positions under an LOP grant to meet with detainees at the Northwest Detention Center. They inform detainees of their rights and screen individuals for potential relief options. NWRIP was informed that the grant will end this month.

Congress specifically funded the LOP program in its omnibus spending bill, mentioning the program by name, and directing the administration to expand the programā€™s reach to new detention facilities. Despite this very strong support by Congress, the Department of Justice has stopped the LOP program.Ā  This is inexcusable.

  • Sen. Patty Murray: DC 202-224-2621 | Seattle 206-553-5545
  • Sen. Maria Cantwell: DC 202-224-3441 | Seattle 206-220-6400
  • Rep. Suzan DelBene (1st) DC ā€“ 202-225-6311 | Bothell 425-485-0085
  • Rep. Dave Reichert (8th) DC ā€“ 202-225-7761 | Issaquah 425-677-7414
  • Rep. Adam Smith (9th) DC ā€“ 202-225-8901 | Renton 425-793-5180

ā˜Ž Sample Script:

Hello! My name is [NAME] and Iā€™m calling from [CITY, ZIP]. Iā€™m calling about the Legal Orientation Program for detained immigrants. The Department of Justice has stopped this vital program even though it was specifically funded in the Omnibus spending bill. The program provides important legal information to roughly half of the detained population, and its suspension is another mean-spirited attack by the Administration on immigrant rights. Please use your office to demand that DOJ follow Congressā€™ direction and resume the Legal Orientation Program.

Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.

Action 4 ā€“ [US HOUSE & SENATE] ā€“ Thank Our MoCs (except Reichert) for Speaking Out to Demand Resignation of Scott Pruitt

From Seattle Indivisible and 5calls

Both of our Senators helped submit a resolution calling for the resignation of Scott Pruitt, the blatantly corrupt EPA Head. The resolution states that the co-signers have “no confidence in the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and [are] calling for the immediate resignation of the Administrator.” Ā Whatā€™s more, both Rep. DelBene and Rep. Smith signed on to the companion resolution in the House, along with 129 other House reps and 36 other Senators. Pruitt has drastically slashed environmental protections and himself has made a series of increasingly blatant ethics violations. This resolution was signed by the largest number of Senators to ever call for the resignation of a cabinet member.

  • Sen. Patty Murray: DC 202-224-2621 | Seattle 206-553-5545
  • Sen. Maria Cantwell: DC 202-224-3441 | Seattle 206-220-6400
  • Rep. Suzan DelBene (1st) DC ā€“ 202-225-6311 | Bothell 425-485-0085
  • Rep. Adam Smith (9th) DC ā€“ 202-225-8901 | Renton 425-793-5180

ā˜Ž Sample Script for any MoC OTHER than Dave Reichert:

Hello, Iā€™m [NAME] from [CITY]. Iā€™m calling to thank you for being a part of the resolution to demand Scott Pruittā€™s resignation. He is blatantly corrupt; a public vote of no confidence from so many lawmakers sends a strong signal that we will not tolerate it. Thank you for using your position of power to speak out loudly, even as Republicans continue to obstruct meaningful change.

ā˜Ž Sample Script for Rep. Dave Reichert (8th) DC ā€“ 202-225-7761 | Issaquah 425-677-7414

Hello, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY, ZIP]. I urge Representative Reichert to call for Scott Pruitt’s resignation as EPA Administrator. His inappropriate conflicts of interest with industry lobbyists, use of taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights, and irresponsible policymaking are a danger to human health and the environment, and he cannot be trusted to run the EPA.

Thank you for your hard work answering the phones.

MoreĀ Actions You Can Take:

Attend an In-Person event:

ā€¦ and More:

Crowd Sourced Actions:

Do you have an idea for future Weekly Actions? (We could use all the help we can get folks!) EmailĀ group-action@indivisibleeastside.comĀ Ā to submit your idea. YourĀ inputĀ is greatly appreciated, and please understand that depending on current events, we canā€™t guarantee yours will be picked. To submit an idea, please:

Submit proposals for the Weekly Actions by Thursday midnight for an action the following week!

  • Include the action to be taken (who to contact – HOUSE, SENATE, LEGISLATURE, AGENCY),
  • Include details about the bill (e.g. bill numbers) or regulation, when the action will no longer be effective
  • Include how it Resists the Trump agenda, or forwards progressive candidates
  • Link to news article
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