First, let’s start with some good news: yesterday, the Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which will mandate federal recognition for same-sex marriages. The bill was previously passed by the House, but will now go back to the House for final approval. The vote is expected as soon as next week, after which the bill would head to President Biden’s desk. A bipartisan committee, led by Senator Tammy Baldwin, was able to build enough support in the last few months to overcome the filibuster that would have blocked the bill from coming to the Senate floor.
Now for this week’s action.
Before the holiday break we issued a Call to Action asking Indivisibles to urge their Members of Congress (MoCs) to prevent Republicans from again holding the economy hostage by refusing to raise the debt ceiling so that they can force adoption of spending cuts and right-wing policies that they can’t enact through the normal legislative process. The current Congress is still in session with Democratic majorities in both chambers, and because increases in the debt ceiling cannot be filibustered, Congress can raise it before Republicans take control of the House on Tuesday, January 3. But time is short!
Republicans have used debt-ceiling blackmail before, and they’ve publicly promised to do so again in the next Congress. A debt-ceiling default could plunge the global economy into chaos, and some Republican extremists have threatened just that unless Democrats gut Social Security and Medicare. Democratic leaders have expressed support for raising the debt ceiling now to prevent political hostage taking. Yet rumors out of Washington are calling into question whether they can (or will) do so before the House adjourns on Thursday, December 15, and the Senate on Wednesday, December 21.
The adjournment dates are not set by law. The Democratic majorities could decide to keep Congress in session longer, they could decide to work through the holidays, and they could decide to stay in session until noon on Tuesday, January 3, if that’s what it takes to block ruthless Republican extortion over the debt ceiling. And threatening to extend the session might be just the tool needed to galvanize fast action.
Please join us once again to urge our MoCs to raise the debt ceiling even if it means delaying their end-of-session return home.
7 Days to Elect Rev. Warnock to the Senate
The US Senate race in Georgia is headed for a runoff. That election will be held on Tuesday, December 6—which gives us just one week to get out the vote again.
Look for volunteer opportunities on our Vote page. Help the Democratic majority hold onto this critical Senate seat! Here are just some of the reasons why a clear 51-vote Democratic majority would be much better.
7 Days to Cure Ballots: Help fellow voters get their ballots counted
There’s still time to help reach out to voters and alert them that they need to cure their ballots. In California, the deadline is Tuesday, December 6; other states may have different deadlines.
Relatively minor voter errors often lead to ballots being rejected, so about half the states have a process called “ballot curing” that lets voters fix errors on their mail-in ballots. Join Field Team 6 to call voters in those states who need help exercising their right to cure their ballots.
If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group is where it happens. Our next meeting is Thursday, Dec. 8.
Indivisible SF Federal Working Group: Thursday, Dec. 8, 7:30-9 PM Planning meeting where we discuss strategy to influence our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to enact a progressive agenda. Meeting starts promptly at 7:30 PM. All are welcome. Register here!
About this week’s photo
If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.
Today’s image is a photo of the Washington Memorial and US Capitol building silhouetted by the setting sun. The photo was produced by James R. Pearson and is hosted in the National Archives.
Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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