As we've often said over the years of our work together, "Action is the antidote to anxiety." In that spirit, we are sending you two easy actions to take today. While the results of the election were a huge disappointment, our work together continues. Our mission remains the same - taking action to help build a more just, caring and inclusive America.
We’ve still got the White House and the Senate for another couple months and there are ways that we can urgently take action, while we still have that legislative power, to safeguard our democracy.
1) CALL your Senators and ask them to confirm every single judge we can before Trump takes office.
The Senate can, and should work around the clock in these final weeks to confirm the 29 pending nominations before them, or Trump gets to fill those vacancies with MAGA sycophants who will rubber-stamp his agenda. If the Senate acts now, these judges will be on the bench before Trump enters office. And because these are lifetime appointments, they will be there long after Trump is gone.
Congress reconvened this week its final session before we lose our Senate majority. Tell your senators to stay in Washington and work the long hours required to confirm these judges and help protect our democracy. Tell them that you expect them to spend the final session confirming as many judges as possible before Republicans take control of the Senate. Let them know that you're counting on them to do whatever they can to protect our democracy. You can look up your Senators' contact info here.
2) Call your Congressperson and ask them to oppose HR 9495
This bill would grant Donald Trump unilateral power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization based on an accusation of wrongdoing- a vote will be taken on Monday. The legislation is opposed by over 130 groups, including ACLU, Brennan Center, Planned Parenthood, Public Citizen, AFT, NEA, LCV, CAP, Indivisible, NAACP, Reproductive Freedom for All, and National Women’s Law Center. See letter here.
A second vote on HR 9495 will take place on Monday, this time only requiring a simple majority. A first vote took place on 11/12 and did not pass thanks to the opposition of many pro-democracy groups. It's important to push for more "no" votes this time in order to also shore up more opposition in the Senate. Here is a list of how Members of Congress voted in the first round.
Tell your representative to oppose this bill and protect non-profits from vengeful presidential administrations.
Call (202) 224-3121 to reach Congress and ask to speak to your representative. Once you’re connected, here’s what you could say:
“My name is ______ and I live in ______, STATE.
I’m calling because I’m concerned about H.R. 9495. This bill would allow the Treasury Secretary to strip non-profit organizations of their tax-exempt status without due process — it would stifle dissent and the political speech of non-profits.
Please oppose this bill and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Thank you for your time.”
Thank you for taking action in this difficult time!