Better healthcare, candidates as job seekers, domestic terrorism, and more!
FEB 20
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:
- REJECT APPOINTMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL FISCAL COMMISSION, WHICH THREATENS SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARELast month, the House Budget Committee voted to establish a bi-partisan fiscal commission whose charge would be to devise a plan to curb federal spending and require Congress to vote on it with no amendments. However, many Democrats, union leaders, and others have voiced concern that this effort will take the process out of the public eye and upend social security and Medicare, programs that many Americans depend on and which 80% of the population supports in its current iteration. Let’s tell our MoCs we do not want the budget balanced on the backs of the people who need it most, and we want to see an open process that involves all the stakeholders, not a small group of people negotiating behind closed doors.
- CREATING BETTER HEALTHCARE THROUGH DEMOCRACYHealthcare Leaders for Democracy (HL4D), a volunteer-led initiative of healthcare professionals supporting the Movement Voter Fund, stands for the proposition that “when we elect the right leaders—and hold them accountable to pass robust social, economic, and healthcare policies—we will gain the health outcomes we need and deserve.” HL4D engages healthcare leaders and activists in raising funds for grassroots organizations working to turn out voters in swing states who are marginalized by our mental health and healthcare systems and by voter suppression. HL4D is hosting a virtual National House Party on February 28, 2024, 8PM ET. If we are healthcare professionals or activists, let’s sign up to attend. We can also donate here. And let’s all of us spread the word about HL4D.
- TALK ABOUT BIDEN AND TRUMP AS JOB CANDIDATESThe presidential election is a job search for our country’s CEO, says CBS journalist John Dickerson in a recent invited lecture. Based on decades of covering presidents and elections, Dickerson details the experiences, qualities, and personal characteristics that should be in the job description. Dickerson also has journalistic advice about focusing on the most meaningful political news (introduction starts at 11 minutes, Dickerson’s talk at 14 minutes 45 seconds). The Harvard Institute of Politics YouTube channel has other excellent discussions to inform this year’s conversations. Let’s watch and take notes for talking points about which candidate is the most qualified for the job of President of the United States.
- ACCURATE DATA NEEDED ON DOMESTIC TERRORISMThe Brennan Center for Justice has once again highlighted the lack of accurate data on domestic terrorism. The Biden administration has called domestic terrorism “the most urgent terrorism threat the United States faces today.” In a June 2023 report to Congress the FBI acknowledged that it lacks annual numbers of domestic terror events in the U.S. and of the number of deaths associated with these events. The FBI was also unable to provide data on the number of successful domestic terrorism prosecutions resulting from its investigations. This, even though the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act requires that the FBI provide this data to Congress annually. In 2021, the Department of Justice established a protocol for its Justice Manual for identifying and tracking “domestic violent extremism [DVE],” but has not yet provided data regarding these events. Let’s ask our Congress members to follow up on the FBI’s failure to provide domestic terrorism data. Let’s also urge the DoJ to publicly release data the Justice Manual requires it to assemble.
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