August 4, 2023
Tax the oligarchs, stop the junk fees, march and vote for the climate, 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:
- PEPFAR SAVED 25 MILLION LIVES, LET’S SAVE PEPFAR
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been on every level a remarkable success, credited with saving 25 million lives and changing the trajectory of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Currently PEPFAR funds are providing HIV prevention and treatment services to millions of people worldwide. Launched under George W. Bush, PEPFAR has long had bipartisan support and has routinely been reauthorized every five years since its creation in 2003. But it’s up for renewal again this fall, and this time is going to be different. Forced birther groups are rallying Republicans to oppose this extension, claiming PEPFAR funds are being used to promote abortion and LGBT advocacy – over the objection of anti-choicers working against HIV/AIDS overseas, who have made clear this is not the case. Congressional Republicans are now using this opportunity to pressure President Biden to reinstate the global gag rule preventing foreign organizations from receiving U.S. health assistance from providing information, referrals or services for abortion. Let’s contact our members of Congress and tell them to ignore the political games with this life-saving initiative and reauthorize it for five years as usual. - ADDRESS INCOME INEQUALITY BY SUPPORTING THE OLIGARCH ACT
In the first quarter of 2023, 69 percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of earners. In comparison, the lowest 50 percent of earners only owned 2.4 percent of the total wealth. Representatives Barbara Lee (CA-12), Summer Lee (PA-12), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) are trying to address this issue through the introduction of the OLIGARCH ACT, which would increase taxes on the very small percentage of Americans who have 1,000 times the median household wealth. Let’s tell our MoCs that we want them to support this bill and that it’s time for the uber rich to pay their fair share.
- FIGHT BACK AGAINST JUNK FEESAmericans pay far too much in junk fees. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) estimates Americans pay “tens of billions of dollars” in these hidden, tacked-on fees from banks, credit card companies, concert ticket vendors, hotels, and more. Even though the Biden Administration has won a big victory, with the CFPB ordering Bank of America to pay over $250 million for their illegal junk fees and other harm inflicted on their often unwitting clients, there is still more to do. Both the House and Senate have introduced bills to fight these fees. We can call our Representatives to demand they help get them passed. We can also share our experiences with junk fees and join the fight against them with Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
- FAIR PAY FOR FEDERAL FIREFIGHTERS
With the threat of worse and worse wildfire seasons as the climate crisis takes hold, the U.S. Forest Service’s wildland firefighter program is in crisis. As many as 50% of the firefighters charged with protecting against catastrophe in millions of acres of land managed by the USFS could resign in coming seasons due to low wages and poor benefits. Under President Biden’s infrastructure bill, salaries were temporarily bumped by up to $20,000 a year, but that increase is set to expire at the end of September. Multiple bills have been introduced in Congress to make that increase permanent and expand other benefits. Let’s tell our members of Congress we want to see action for our firefighters.
- END THE FAKE “GREEN” ENERGY MARKETIt turns out that the purchase and sale of “renewable energy certificates,” which were invented to stimulate the building of renewable energy sources like wind and solar farms and are touted as a method of reducing greenhouse gases, do nothing to help the climate crisis. Yet the federal government continues to buy them and uses them to inflate renewable energy progress. As the world faces the hottest summer on record, it’s time for the federal government to stop the charade and do more to decarbonize all sectors of American life. Let’s share this report with our Members of Congress and with the White House, and let’s tell them we want the federal government to stop wasting taxpayer money on renewable energy certificates and start doing a lot more to decarbonize.
- MARCH—AND VOTE—FOR A FOSSIL FUEL-FREE WORLD
The United Nations Climate Ambition Summit is being held in New York City in September to push governments, business, the finance sector, local authorities, and civil society to accelerate “the pace and scale of a just transition to a more equitable renewable energy-based, climate-resilient global economy.” In response, a coalition of environmental groups including Food and Water Watch is organizing The March to End Fossil Fuels on September 17, 1PM, in New York City. We can sign up here to join the march. Since marching alone won’t have as much impact as marching and voting, let’s also tell Mothers Out Front, one of the coalition members, to urge March organizers to incorporate voter registration into the event via email communications with participants and at the event itself. We can sign the pledge to be environmental voters with the Environmental Voter Project. Lastly, let’s help spread the word about this effort.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
- MA – HELP PRISONERS KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THEIR FAMILIES
Study after study has confirmed that ensuring prison inmates can keep in touch with their families is not only humane, it helps reduce recidivism. Over the last year, Massachusetts has been moving towards making phone calls in state and county prisons free. Right now there are bills in both houses of the legislature aimed at securing free phone calls for prisoners, and language doing the same in each house’s budget, but we’ve seen this policy come close to being realized and crumble before. Let’s contact our state legislators and Governor Healey and let them know that this time we want to finish the job and secure free phone calls for prisoners.
