Actions

Weekly Actions

Members of Congress

  • Sen. Patty Murray
    (202) 224-2621 | Email

  • Sen. Maria Cantwell
    (202) 224-3441 | Email

  • Rep. Suzan DelBene (1st)
    (202) 225-6311 | Email

  • Rep. Kim Schrier (8th)
    (202) 225-7761 | Email

  • Rep. Adam Smith (9th)
    (202) 225-8901 | Email
    		•

    For the Week of May 29, 2023

    ???? June is Pride Month and as part of their celebrations the City of Kirkland will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil the installation of a new crosswalk modeled after the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flag at the entrance to Marina Park at Kirkland Avenue and Lakeshore Plaza. This will take place on June 2nd at 5 p.m. Unfortunately their Facebook post announcing this event has been subject to a host of vile comments. It would be great to have a show of support for the LGBTQ community and the City’s efforts on Friday afternoon!

    ???? The City of Kirkland want to hear what you think about the future of Housing and Human Services in the City. They have a short survey that you can find at this link. Your input will help to form the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

    ???? Do you want to help make banned books available for young people to read this summer? The organization Red Wine and Blue is proposing funding Banned Bookmobiles in areas affected by this increasing problem. They are aiming to set up twelve bookmobiles as part of their Book Ban Busters project and need help with funding. You can donate here to this worthy project.

    ???? Mark your calendars for our next meeting on June 25th from 4:00- 5:30. We will be gathering outdoors at an IE member’s house in Kirkland. The address will be provided to all who register at this link. We will be hearing from trans rights activist Bryce Cannatelli. In preparation, we would encourage you to check out Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution, or this Transgender Reading list to learn more. You must register on Eventbrite to attend this in person event.

    ???? Here are your 2 actions this week.

    ✊ Action 1 – [Senator Cantwell] Ask Senator Cantwell to back new legislation to establish a Task Force to regulate A.I.

    It is becoming increasingly obvious that the potential for A.I. to wreak havoc on many aspects of our lives is real and demands an urgent response from our legislators. This Op-Ed from Congressman Ted Lieu lays out the possibilities in stark and realistic terms. He rightly points out that there are benefits to A.I. which we already enjoy. A.I. thinks exponentially faster than humans, can analyze orders of magnitude more data than we can and sees patterns the human mind would never see.

    Despite its benefits, A.I. can, and has already, caused harm. From education and media, where it can be impossible to determine if a piece is original, to its potential to create dangerous and provocative social media posts as well concerns about civil surveillance and privacy, there are increasing signs that there needs to be regulation around its use. The Biden White House has recently updated its plans to ‘Advance Responsible Artificial Intelligence Research, Development, and Deployment’, which does begin to address the problem but is likely to take a long time to produce results. Congress is also starting to address it but more urgency is required.

    In April Senator Michael Bennet (D-COLO) introduced legislation to establish a cabinet level Task Force to, among other things, ‘recommend specific legislative and regulatory reforms’ as described in this one-pager. Such an entity could do much of the groundwork required for a robust response to address the issues around A.I. and could produce results relatively quickly. As the bill is in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, we have an opportunity to ask the Chair of the committee, Senator Maria Cantwell, to support the bill and help ensure its progress through the Senate.

    Please call or email the Senator and ask her to support this legislation in any way that she can to expedite the creation of an A.I. Task Force.

    ☎ Sample Script:

    My name is [NAME], writing from [CITY] with my concerns about the proliferation and potential for abuse of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). While there are undoubted benefits to the technology that we all use in our daily lives, the dangers of its unregulated use are too numerous and call for a robust response from Congress in order to address them.

    As Chair of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, you will be aware of recent legislation (S. 1356, the Assess AI Act) introduced by Senator Michael Bennet, which proposes the establishment of a cabinet-level Task Force to address the issues presented by the increasing use of A.I. in our lives.

    I am writing to urge you, as Committee Chair, to do everything that you can to support this bill and to speed its passage through your committee and the Senate. As the technology rapidly evolves, it is vital that Congress address this with the urgency that it demands.

    Thank you.

    [NAME]

    [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

    ✊ Action 2 – [Members of Congress] Ask your Member of Congress to support new legislation for Medicare for All

    From healthcareforallwa.org

    On May 17, Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Debbie Dingell (MI-06) and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2023. The bill aims to establish a Medicare-for-all national health insurance program that would expand the existing Medicare program to everyone in the United States and allow them to obtain primary, vision, dental, reproductive, and mental healthcare; prescription drugs; substance abuse treatment; and more. The Medicare for All Act of 2023 also includes universal coverage of long-term care with no cost-sharing for older Americans and individuals with disabilities. It prioritizes home and community-based care over institutional care.

    More than half of the Democratic caucus (112) in the House has signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, including 13 powerful ranking members of congressional committees. The only Washington co-sponsor is Adam Smith (CD9). If you are represented by another Member of Congress please ask them to add their name to the list and give some momentum to the movement to improve access to comprehensive healthcare for all Americans. If Representative Smith is your congressman please email him thanking him for his support of the bill.

    The bill was also introduced in the Senate by Sen. Bernie Sanders (S.1655) and was supported by fourteen of his colleagues. Senator Patty Murray and Senator Maria Cantwell are not co-sponsors. Please also send a message asking them to join their colleagues in supporting this legislation.

    ☎ Sample Script for all EXCEPT Representative Smith:

    Hello,

    My name is [NAME], a constituent from [CITY]. I am writing to ask you to support the Medicare For All Act (H.R. 3421/S.1655) which was recently introduced by Representatives Jayapal and Dingell and Senator Sanders. This bill seeks to establish an improved Medicare for All national health insurance program. We need a Medicare for All health care system that would end health disparities, effectively control costs, and assure that everyone has equal access to an excellent standard of care.

    Thank you.

    [NAME]

    [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

    ☎ Sample Script for Representative Smith:

    Hello,

    My name is [NAME], a constituent from [CITY]. I am writing to thank you for co-sponsoring H.R.3421, the Medicare for All Act, which was recently introduced. We need a Medicare for All health care system that would end health disparities, effectively control costs, and assure that everyone has equal access to an excellent standard of care. I appreciate your support of legislation that seeks to accomplish this goal.

    Thank you.

    [NAME]

    [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

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