These days, it seems like the Senate exists to confirm unqualified right-wing judges and ignore the ongoing pandemic, economic, and police brutality crises in America. But that changes now, because it’s time for must-pass legislation.
On Thursday, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which controls more than half of all federal spending. It also impacts (or ignores) important policy issues such as police militarization, nuclear weapons, endless wars, the human and economic resources needed to respond to climate crisis, economic collapse, and healthcare in a time of pandemic. Being a must-pass bill, the NDAA provides us with a rare chance to actually influence legislation that becomes law.
Unfortunately, while Republicans claim that the Senate bill is "bi-partisan," it is in no way a compromise bill. Rather, it is an expression of Trump/Republican priorities and values. Here are some of the worst problems with the current NDAA bill (S.4049).
- Leaves untouched the 1033 program that militarizes the police
- Fails to do anything effective to end our endless wars
- Does not hold the Pentagon accountable for how it uses taxpayer money
- Ignores the climate crisis
- Fails to exert constitutionally-mandated congressional authority over war-making policy and spending.
As it stands today, the NDAA bill is atrocious. Our senators must vote NO on it.
Call your senators and tell them - vote NO on the NDAA! Cut the military budget and address our real needs instead.
We’ve developed our own suggestions on what a good NDAA should look like. We ask ISF members to please read and comment on our draft NDAA "Legislative Letter" to our Members of Congress which describes what we want to see in this year's NDAA. You can view the draft letter at the link here. To make comments or suggestions, click on the related portion of the draft, then click on the "+" sign to bring up a comments box.
And, if you support our effort to reshape the NDAA, please add your signature to our Draft Legislative Letter on this Google form!
Want to help us draft our next ask to our Members of Congress? Join the ISF MoC Zoom Meeting on Thursday!
Please join us for an in-depth conversation on our legislative and oversight priorities, as we prepare our next calls to action to our representatives and senators. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the legislative process and how to make your voices heard by your Members of Congress.
Our meeting will take place July 2nd, 7 PM, over Zoom. Register here.
Help us fight for Black lives in San Francisco!
Here in San Francisco, we are fighting against brutal and unjust policing in our own backyard. The two police forces that most affect communities in San Francisco are the SFPD and the BART police. The budgets and operations of both are under increased scrutiny right now, and we are joining a broad coalition of activists to help make change.
Just last Friday, ISF was part of a press conference by our friends at Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community: Justice 4 Mario Woods. The organization was presenting its vision of partially defunding SFPD and redirecting the funds to the Black communities of San Francisco struggling with poverty and criminalization. ISF stands in active, determined allyship with organizations fighting for Black lives.
The key to achieving accountability is for regular citizens like us to show up and let police and local government know we are watching. Calling in to Board of Supervisors meetings and Police Commission meetings is crucial to this effort. Usually the meetings have “public comment” sections, when voters can actually call in and speak their opinion on the topic at hand. Over the past weeks, ISF has been showing up to (and live-tweeting) local board meetings that address police accountability. We’ve been letting our elected officials in these boards know that we want our police forces to be held accountable.
Thanks to the public comments of many activists, including ISF members, things are already changing! The BART board has already committed to changing policies; responsibility for responding to nonviolent calls will shift from armed police to unarmed social workers. The SF Board of Supervisors is considering making cuts to the police department budget. We need to keep the pressure up!
Tomorrow, July 1st, 5:30 PM - Police Commission Meeting. Directions for how to watch online and post public comments are provided in the meeting agenda.
Wednesday, July 8th, 1 PM - SF Board of Supervisors Budget Hearing. (NOTE: the time/date of this meeting is subject to change.) The SFPD will be presenting its budget at the Budgets & Appropriations Committee. Mark your calendars for this meeting - we’ll be posting more information as we get it! You can also check back on the Board of Supervisors website.
Thursday, July 9th, 9:00 AM - BART Board Meeting. The agenda and instructions have not been posted yet. When they are posted, it will be on this meeting website.
127 Days until Election Day. How are you planning to help?
It’s time to gear up for the Presidential election, a fight for the soul and integrity of our nation. We’re writing postcards and letters, phonebanking, and texting like crazy to reach voters all over America.
Indivisible National is training new texters to join in this effort. Indivisible SF members played a major role in developing Indivisitexting, and we want to train you!
Get texting training on Tuesday, June 7, at 5:30 PM at our webinar here.
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ISF General Meeting: Sunday, July 5, 1–3 PM via Zoom. Register here to join our online meeting. We are working on more ways to stay in contact with you online!
Tomorrow, July 1st, 5:30 PM - Police Commission Meeting. Join us to watch and post public comment on the San Francisco Police Commission meeting. Directions for how to watch online and post public comment are provided in the meeting agenda.
Thursday, July 2nd, 7-8 PM - ISF Members of Congress Planning Meeting over Zoom. Please join us for an in-depth conversation on our legislative and oversight priorities as we prepare our next calls to action to our representatives and senators. Register here.
Tuesday, July 7, 5:30 PM - Indivisible Text Banking Training. Join Indivisible National training to teach you how to start texting with the IndivisiText program on their platform, TextOut! Text banking is a super-effective way to reach voters. RSVP here.
Wednesday, July 8th, 1 PM - SF Board of Supervisors Budget Hearing. (NOTE: the time/date of this meeting is subject to change.) The SFPD will be presenting its budget at the Budgets & Appropriations Committee. Mark your calendars for this meeting - we’ll be posting more information as we get it!
Thursday, July 9th, 9:00 AM - BART Board Meeting. Join us to watch and give public comment on the BART Board of Directors meeting. They haven’t posted the agenda and instructions yet. When they do, it will be posted on the meeting website.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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