March 14, 2024
Funding for Ukraine, phone banking and postcarding, no hungry kids, and more!
| MAR 14 |
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:
- FUNDING FOR UKRAINE VIA DISCHARGE PETITIONA month ago, the Senate approved a bill that would provide funding for Ukraine to continue their battle against the Russians. The House has yet to bring up the bill for a vote as the GOP knows Trump does not support the war in Ukraine. We know, however, that standing up for our allies helps keep us all strong. Vote Vets knows how important this is, too, and have produced a video invoking Ronald Reagan explaining why. Using the discharge petition protocol to bypass the Speaker to bring a bill to the House floor, on Tuesday the Democrats started a discharge petition for the Senate bill while another discharge petition by a GOP member of the Problem Solvers Caucus was also presented. A discharge petition needs 218 votes before the bill can be brought to the floor. The Senate bill includes humanitarian aid to Gaza and economic assistance to Ukraine, while Fitzpatrick’s bill is purely military aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan along with border policy restrictions. Let’s contact our representatives and share the Vote Vets video with them and urge them to sign the discharge petition for the Senate bill to get the bill to the floor for a vote. Let’s also share the video in our social media and tag our representatives.
- WHAT’S UP WITH PHONE BANKING?To encourage citizens to vote, campaigns engage volunteers to reach out to prospective voters using various methods: door-knocking (also known as canvassing), postcard and letter-writing, texting, and…phone banking. If we’ve never volunteered for phone banking before but we’re curious about it, we can read this and this to learn more. Next week is Ohio’s primary election, and Activate America is looking for volunteers to phonebank for Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and Democratic Representative Marcy Kapfur (9th District). Phonebanks are Thursday, March 14, and Monday, March 18, with training and technical support. Let’s give it a try! For times and signing up, let’s visit here.
- POSTCARD AND PIE VIRTUAL EVENT TO KEEP MI REP IN HIS SEATFrom SWIM: State Wide Indivisible Michigan (SWIM) is partnering with Field Team 6 at a virtual event to write postcards to likely Democrats in Michigan House District 38 this Sunday, March 17, from 6 – 8 pm EDT. Michigan House District 38 is in southwest Michigan in Van Buren and Berrien Counties and their House Representative Joey Andrews (D) is doing a stellar job for the people of his district. We want to make sure he gets re-elected in November and one way to do this is to get likely Democrats in his district registered to vote and to the polls in November. We have 4,700 names and addresses and we need help from YOU to reach our targets. This St. Paddy’s Day, Sunday, March 17 from 6-8 pm EDT, SWIM is holding a Postcard and Pie event and if you register, I’ll be sending you a recipe for a Baileys Irish Creme Pie to make and enjoy in advance of our get together. Bring your postcards, stamps and colored pens and let’s get writing! Let’s sign up here today and we’ll do some postcard writing and pie eating on Sunday night together!
- NO KID SHOULD GO HUNGRY
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 and attendance while providing a boost to America’s farmers for only $11 billion a year more than the pre-COVID school meal programs. Unfortunately, that program came to a halt at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, despite widespread popularity. September 30th will see the expiration of the extension of the Farm Bill, legislation passed every five years (in theory) covering a range of policies related to agriculture and food including school lunches. Let’s contact our members of Congress and tell them we want to see universal free school meals return as part of the Farm Bill, and get engaged with the advocates at No Kid Hungry and the Food Research and Action Center to stay in this fight. We can do so directly or via ResistBot by texting SIGN PYIXVY to 50409 or hitting the sign petition button here.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
- HI – FIGHT HUNGER WHILE SUPPORTING LOCAL GROWERS
Hunger and food insecurity are on the rise in Hawaii, growing by 40% between 2021 and 2023. 1 in 10 Hawaii residents are now food insecure according to Hunger Free America. Legislators in our state have proposed addressing it in part with HB 2771/HD1, legislation that would make permanent a program that doubles SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits when recipients buy locally grown produce. This would benefit both those in need and farmers statewide. The Senate Agriculture and Environment and Health and Human Services Committees are set to hold a hearing on this legislation on Wednesday. Let’s reach out to our legislators and let them know we support this bill.