Rogan's List for February 9, 2023

Demand a clean debt ceiling hike, push for police reform, take on off-shore drilling and more!

Contact all members of Congress:

Contact White House or other federal agencies:

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AGAINST A DEFAULT
Republicans are still refusing a clean debt limit increase, regardless of the consequences of the U.S. defaulting on its debt. While members of Congress argue the merits of negotiating over something that should be done as a matter of course, Indivisible, a progressive grassroots organization, has created a Letter to the Editor tool to help us spread awareness about this issue and hold our representatives accountable. For those of us who have Democratic representatives in the House, we can use this template, then customize and personalize it. For those of us with Republican representatives, let’s use this template.
FOLLOW UP ON POLICE REFORM PROMISES
In President Biden’s police reform executive order last May, he set a deadline of January 20^th for launching a national database for officer misconduct. That deadline has come and gone without action, and the Justice Department has not explained why. Let’s contact the White House and urge them to move forward on this step.

BAN OFF-SHORE DRILLING ON THE WEST COAST
If enacted, the West Coast Ocean Protection Act filed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) would permanently ban drilling for oil and gas off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. Let’s tell our two senators to co-sponsor S.22 and our representative to co-sponsor H.R.470.

TEACH BLACK HISTORYWhile the College Board denies its changes to the AP African American Studies curriculum had anything to do with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ rejection of it, Haymarket Books, a Chicago-based publisher, will offer free e-books from its list on topics in Black history. According to The Hill, Haymarket hopes to make more titles from their list available to Florida residents. We should thank Haymarket, spread the word about this initiative, and urge other publishers to follow suit.

TAKE THE ACLU STATE LEGISLATIVE ACTION PLEDGE
State legislative sessions are underway nationwide, and we’re seeing significant developments on everything from anti-trans laws in West Virginia to expanding voting rights in Minnesota. There’s plenty that needs our attention… and a lot to keep up with! Let’s sign up for the ACLU’s state legislative updates and action alerts to stay engaged.

STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS

COLORADO: BAN SEMIAUTOMATIC WEAPONS
With yet another set of mass shootings in the news and the wounds from Club Q still fresh, Colorado lawmakers are putting together a broad ban on semiautomatic firearms. Democrats have a trifecta in the state, so this is a big opportunity to make real progress. Let’s contact our legislators and Governor Polis and let them know we want them to get the job done and pass a strong gun control measure.

Rogan’s List for February 9, 2023