Welcome, We The People-PA activists, advocates, and supporters, to another edition of our biweekly eBlast! We bring you legislative news from the federal and state levels and ways to get involved!
Content Index
STATE UPDATES
Today, we learned that the General Assembly has adjourned until next week so the Pennsylvania state budget negotiations will not be settled this week. This means that as the state constitutionally mandated deadline of next Thursday night approaches, activity at the Capitol will be hectic as last-minute efforts to pass the budget commence.
Last week, House Bill 1393, which would decriminalize fentanyl test strips, was passed unanimously in the House. The bill was also expanded to remove the “personal use barrier” allowing for broader use and more lives saved. This bill now goes to the Senate. While legalizing fentanyl test strips and other drug checking tools will be a big win, we still have much further to go to truly address the overdose crisis, such as the legalization of Syringe Service Programs and removing barriers to treatment. Follow PA Harm Reduction Network for updates.FEDERAL UPDATES
Have you seen 99% PA’s video of PA parent Susan Stoll calling out PA billionaire Jeffrey Yass on social media yesterday? If you haven’t gotten a chance to like/share/retweet it yet, please help us keep the momentum going and take a minute to share it now.
STAY TUNED! The 99% PA campaign and the We The People-PA campaign are teaming up for a special event in Philadelphia in late July. More details will be forthcoming very soon!
UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED
From Health Care for America Now and Americans for Tax Fairness: JUNE 29 –> Protect Democracy, Tax Billionaires Day of Action.
As Congress wraps up their work and heads off for the July 4th recess, we want to send a message that taxing the ultra-rich isn’t just about raising revenue for important investments—it’s also about preserving democracy at a time when billionaires have enough wealth and influence to rig elections, buy candidates, and essentially write their own laws. Read more from ATF here on how billionaires threaten democracy.
HCAN and ATF are partnering up on June 29th to tell Congress that taxing billionaires is about saving democracy and building an economy that works for all. Read their Day of Action memo here.
Join the day of action by hosting an event with your member of Congress in support of the Babies Over Billionaires Act in the House, the Billionaires Income Tax or the millionaires’ surtax. Congress must include increased taxes for the rich in the upcoming reconciliation package that will hopefully emerge around Independence Day.
Help us release a new national report detailing how political contributions from the ultra-rich have fueled voter suppression, the January 6th insurrection to overthrow the will of the voters in the last election, and takeover of state legislatures.
Check out the billionaires in your state to find one to target as an example: https://billionairestax.org/2022/04/01/state-billionaires-reports-tax-day-2022/
Join social media activities using the #TaxBillionaires hashtag—we’ll have content and more info soon.
Publish an op-ed in your state: HCANEF will provide a template and media support.
IN THE NEWS
Thank you to all our organizational partners and fellow advocates for joining us to fight for a state budget that works for all of us and not just the privileged few!
You can view the updated video of the rally on our Facebook page.
Thanks to your hard work, our rally’s message received a lot of coverage in the press/media:
Advocates in Harrisburg call for lawmakers to spend surplus funds on education, other initiatives – WFMZ-69 (Lehigh Valley & Bucks County)
Rally for a People’s Budget held in Harrisburg – WHP – CBS 21 (Southcentral PA)
Rally goers urge Pennsylvania lawmakers to use budget surplus to help residents, schools – NBC WGAL-8 (Southcentral PA)
CALL TO ACTION
Will the next state budget put the interests of Pennsylvania’s Black, brown, and white working people, in every corner of the state first? Or will it help the billionaire owners of corporations? Take action to tell legislators to invest part of the state’s $15 billion surplus in us. Tell them to fund education and to help people afford groceries, gasoline, housing, and child care.
Tell them not to cut corporate taxes while allowing multinational corporations to pay nothing to the state. TAKE ACTION HERE to tell Pennsylvania legislators that WE should be their priority!
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SIGN OFF
We hope you found this week’s eBlast valuable, and we appreciate your support and the demanding work you all do in your own areas every single day. Keep on keepin’ on!
In Solidarity,
Marc, Nick, Vivienne, Jay, and the rest of the WTP-PA team
We The People – PA is a campaign working to ensure that all Pennsylvanians can thrive. We advocate for bold action from state lawmakers to keep our families safe during today’s emergency—and to build a stronger, healthier, and more just future.
