July 25, 2023- Ohio’s important August vote, Holocaust denier in Congress, Equal Rights Amendment, and more!

Contact all members of Congress:

By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot

Contact White House or other federal agencies:

usa.gov/federal-agencies

KEEP HELPING OHIO VOTERS TO REJECT GOP EFFORTS TO MANIPULATE THE ABORTION RIGHTS REFERENDUM: Republicans in Ohio are trying to fend off an initiative codifying abortion rights by requiring all ballot initiatives to need a 60% majority for passage, rather than a simple 50%. They are doing this through a special election on August 8, a time when many people are busy with summer plans and do not have their minds on voting. While the polls and early voting numbers look good for rejecting this initiative, we should not depend on that, and make sure to get out as many people to vote as possible. Vote Forward is coordinating a letter-writing campaign reminding voters of this important election and explaining the consequences of voting no. Volunteers are asked to add to these letters with brief personal notes about why it’s important to vote. Let’s sign up at votefwd.org, we can download as many letters as we like and make sure to mail them before August 1. If letter-writing is not our thing, let’s check this list for other ways we can help. (h/t for last link)
PAUL GOSAR PROMOTES HOLOCAUST DENIERS AGAIN
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)’s extensive ties to Nick Fuentes and to right-wing extremists are well-documented – he even has a member of the Groyper movement on his congressional payroll. Over the weekend, he used his official House.gov newsletter to promote a fringe site that has denied the Holocaust and praised Adolf Hitler… for the second time in four months. (Elsewhere in the newsletter, he claimed to condemn antisemitism). Gosar, who was removed from his committee assignments during the last Congress for posting a video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has been actively enabled by the GOP House leadership, and it has to stop. Let’s contact our members of Congress and ask them to publicly condemn Gosar’s continued promotion of Holocaust deniers and Hitler admirer, and if they’re Republican to hold Rep. Gosar to the same standard they held Rep. Ilhan Omar and push for his removal from his committee assignments.

SECURE THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
Women’s rights are under attack by the reactionary right. In the face of this assault, congressional Democrats are making a new push to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Cori Bush have introduced a resolution stating the measure has been ratified and is enforceable, regardless of the deadline, and directing the national archivist to certify and publish it. Meanwhile, Rep. Ayanna Pressley is filing a discharge petition for a bill that would directly remove the ratification deadline. Let’s contact our members of Congress and tell them we want to see them co-sponsor and push for a vote on the Gillibrand-Bush resolution, and ask our representatives to sign on to the discharge petition.

GET REBATES FOR SWITCHING TO CLEAN ENERGYPresident Biden’s Clean Energy program under the Inflation Reduction Act includes $8.8 billion in rebates to households making the switch to renewable, non-fossil fuel energy sources. As these programs become available, the climate organization Mothers Out Front has partnered with Energy Sage, a consumer guidance organization, to help us take advantage of the IRA’s climate rebates. Mothers Out Front and Energy Sage are hosting a Zoom webinar on July 27, 2023, 6:30PM EST, that will show us how we can get credits and incentives for switching to renewable energy. Let’s sign up, and let’s spread the word!

ASK GOOGLE TO STOP LISTING FAKE ABORTION CLINICS WHEN PEOPLE SEARCH FOR ABORTION INFORMATION: Fake clinics that try to dissuade women from having abortions by giving them misinformation are often listed at the top of a Google search when a person is looking for abortion services. According to a report from The Center for Digital Hate, this is because these clinics have spent millions on ads and bought key words that are most likely to come up in a search engine. Google’s advertising policies prohibit misrepresentation, and they claim to label whether or not the site actually provides abortions, but in many instances, people still end up at these fake clinics, rather than getting the help they need, which is especially dangerous in states where restrictive abortion laws only give a pregnant person a short amount of time to get an abortion. Let’s contact Google–by postal mail 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway. Mountain View, CA 94043) phone (650) 253-0000, through the Google Ads portion of their website or on Twitter (@Google) and tell them they have a moral responsibility to stop listing these fake abortion clinic ads

Stop atrocities on the Rio Grande, teach Black History, tax private jet travel, and more!

STOP THE TEXAS DEATH TRAPSLast week, an email surfaced in Texas. Written by a trooper for the Texas Department of Public Safety to their superiors, it describes orders to push groups of exhausted, hungry migrants, including children and nursing babies, back into the Rio Grande, where they were sure to drown; a four-year-old in 100 degree weather pushed back by Texas guards later passing out from exhaustion; children and adults stuck in wire traps laid in the water by the state of Texas and severely injured—including a pregnant woman who miscarried. The list goes on, and these are just the latest misdeeds committed by the state of Texas at the border through “Operation Lone Star.” The U.S. Department of Justice has since ordered Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott to remove a razor-wire floating barrier in the Rio Grande or face a lawsuit, but Abbott is milking the situation for political points – in spite of the reality that border crossings are down 70%. Let’s sign this petition from George Takei pushing the Biden Administration for further action, and directly contact the Department of Justice (202-353-1555 or this link), the Department of Homeland Security (202-282-8495) and the White House to push for intervention against Texas’ other abuses of migrants. We can also tell our Members of Congress that it is disgraceful to use desperate people as political pawns and we want humane immigration reform legislation passed now, thank those members who signed Rep. Joaquin Castro’s letter pushing President Biden to step in, and encouraging those who did not sign to take up the call.
BLACK HISTORY IS AMERICAN HISTORY
Last week saw another attack on the teaching of Black history from the right wing, with Florida’s State Board of Education approving new standards for how it will be taught that will include how enslaved people learned skills they could use for their personal benefit and how Black people’s violent acts played into ethnic cleansing against them. The Biden Administration has pushed back, with the Vice-President calling out their efforts to replace history with lies in Jacksonville on Friday and President Biden set to establish a national monument honoring Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley tomorrow. Let’s encourage our federal lawmakers to keep going. The African American History Act would, if passed, invest $10 million over five years in the National Museum of African American History to develop and disseminate educational programs. Let’s tell our U.S. Representatives to co-sponsor H.R.765 and our U.S. Senators to co-sponsor S.233. We can also help personally by considering a donation to the newly-opened International African-American Museum in Charleston or to the Emmett Till Interpretive Center.

HELP THE CLIMATE CRISIS WITH A TAX ON PRIVATE JET TRAVEL
As the earth continues to get hotter and hotter, private jet travel has increased significantly since the pandemic started in 2020. According to recent studies by environmental groups, a passenger on a private jet causes 5 to 14 times the amount of carbon pollution as a commercial airline passenger and just one percent of people cause 50% of aviation emissions. That’s why Senator Markey (D-MA) and Representative Velazquez (D-NY) have introduced the Fueling Alternative Transportation with a Carbon Aviation Tax (FATCAT) Act, which would significantly increase fuel taxes for private jet travel. Let’s tell our MoCs we support this legislation and want to see it passed as quickly as possible.

CONGRESSIONAL CENSURE FOR GEORGE SANTOS
Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) have introduced a privileged resolution to formally censure Rep. George Santos for his lies. They have the right to call the resolution up for a vote at a time of their choosing, and plan to do so before the recess begins on July 28th unless the Ethics Committee finally acts against Santos. While this is not a sufficient answer to Santos’ misdeeds, it is a crucial one. Let’s contact our members of Congress and let them know we will be watching this vote carefully and expect them to vote for censure, and urge them to support continued efforts for Santos’ expulsion.

START A DEMOCRACY CIRCLE – WEBINAR THURSDAYThe Center for Common Ground, a non-partisan voting rights organization led by people of color, and Workers Circle, a Jewish social justice organization, are co-hosting “So You Want to Start a Democracy Circle,” a virtual event to be held July 27, 8PM EST. “Democracy Circles are small groups of people who join together regularly to demand the democracy we need” by taking action like contacting voters through phonebanking, textbanking, and postcarding, writing letters to the editor, and more. Let’s learn how to start a Democracy Circle by signing up for the webinar.

STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS

MA – MAKE UNIVERSAL FREE SCHOOL MEALS PERMANENT
Universal free school meals were one of the great pandemic success stories, feeding hungry kids at a time of economic instability and increasing test scores while providing a boost to America’s farmers for only $11 billion a year more than the pre-COVID school meal programs. While the program came to an end, states have stepped up in its wake, with Massachusetts among those that have extended it through at least the next academic year. Advocates in the legislature are looking to make Massachusetts the eighth state to make free school meals for all permanent, likely through this year’s state budget. Last week, the Joint Education Committee held a hearing on universal school meals, and they are still accepting written testimony. We can submit testimony with Progressive Mass about the importance of universal school meals in our communities here. Let’s also use this social media toolkit from Feed Kids Coalition to spread the word, and reach out to our legislators directly to encourage them to get the job done.
ME – VETO OVERRIDE FOR FARMWORKER WAGES
Governor Janet Mills has vetoed a bill that would ensure farm workers in Maine earn no less than the standard $13.80/hour minimum wage and make them eligible for certain overtime protections under state law. Lawmakers will have an opportunity to override her veto on LD 398 tomorrow. Let’s contact our legislators and tell them we want to see the override succeed and this legislation made law, and encourage them to continue to push for worker protections for farm workers including the right to unionize.