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There's a lot happening. Indivisibles,
A lot happened last week. So before we dive into what’s next, a quick update on where we are on our two main priorities right now:
- The For the People Act: The news isn’t great, but there’s still hope. Please take a minute to read Ezra’s Medium post “We blew past the deadline for democracy. So now what?” -- it’ll give you an update on where we are and what comes next. Chuck Schumer has promised another vote on For the People in September. That could be another Motion to Proceed vote (which probably means we still don't have the votes to change the filibuster) or it could be a rules reform vote that would help us bypass the filibuster and open the path to actual progress. Everything we do from today until then is to make sure it’s the latter.
- Recovery: We had good news this week on the recovery package! In the budget resolution the Senate passed last week, Dems included a pathway to citizenship, Medicare expansion, lowered drug pricing, and huge investments in climate, childcare, and affordable housing. That's a big deal, and evidence that all the grassroots pressure-building and organizing we've been doing works. Next steps on this below.
Finally, a note on Afghanistan: This weekend, we’ve been watching the Taliban's advance on Kabul in horror and frustration, just as we’ve watched so much of what’s happened in Afghanistan for the past twenty years. It is clear there will be a significant need to evacuate and resettle as many Afghans fleeing the Taliban as possible. Indivisible isn’t a foreign policy organization, so experts from organizations focused on resettlement and Middle East issues are your best guides on specific calls to action: Win Without War offers strong progressive foreign policy analysis, the Women's Refugee Commission is doing important work to support evacuating targeted Afghans, and IRAP, HIAS and LIRS (among many other worthy orgs) support people once they're evacuated. And we always urge you to look for the helpers -- the people and organizations in your community who support refugees from any and all conflicts.
With the House and Senate both on recess, now is an important time to make sure they hear from their constituents at home -- so here are your weekly to-dos:
Your weekly to-dos
- Make Calls on S. 1 / The For the People Act. We may not get everything we need from S. 1 because the Senate missed the deadline, but that just makes it doubly important to pass what we can. Depending on where you live, here’s what we need you to do:
- If you live in Delaware, call Senators Coons and Carper at 1-877-684-7760 and tell them you’ve heard information that they’re wavering and it's time to pick a side: democracy or the filibuster. Remind them you're paying attention. (If you want, fill out your information here and we’ll call you with a script and patch you through to their office directly.)
- If you live in West Virginia or Arizona, call Senator Manchin or Sinema and tell them you insist they stop defending the Jim Crow Filibuster and pass S. 1. Don’t let them off the hook with a wishy-washy answer. Click here to call Manchin or here to call Sinema.
- If you have any other Democratic senator, click here to call them and ask them to turn up the heat on Coons, Carper, Manchin, and Sinema. Tell them you’re proud to have heard they’re taking a stand against the filibuster and for our democracy, and ask them to pressure their colleagues to do the same.
- If you have only Republican senators or no senators (hi, our D.C. neighbors) or if you want to do more: Push your senators and representatives to make a public statement calling on Biden to get into the fight. Biden getting involved could be a game changer, so if you can, call your representative and then your senators.
Make Calls on Recovery. The recovery package is moving, and progressives have led the House Democratic Caucus in insisting that we need a bold recovery package before we’ll pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. Nancy Pelosi agrees with their strategy, but some House moderates are threatening our success. Read our resource on the package here, then call your members of Congress.
RSVP for the March on Washington for Voting Rights: This August, on the 58th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, democracy advocates across the country are joining the historic March On for Voting Rights.
On Saturday, August 28th, the March On for Voting Rights will take place in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Miami, Phoenix, Houston, and across the country as we protect voting rights and demand that Congress act by passing federal voting rights legislation. Click here to learn more and join the marches online or in person.
Looking for more to do or feeling stuck with Republican elected officials who won’t listen? Call your friends with Democratic senators, then click here to make a monthly donation to support Indivisible and help us fund the call tools, our pressure campaigns, and more. With this new intel, we’re planning a big advertising campaign for next week and you can help make it happen, and your monthly gift will help ensure we can plan ahead.
IndivisiWin of the Week
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| Pennsylvania Indivisibles rallied with local leaders to urge the Senate to pass the For the People Act. |
That’s it for this week! Be sure to text INDIVISIBLE to 97779 to join our mobile rapid response team and to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for breaking news.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
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