Dear John,

Yesterday, we demanded that Congress pass an infrastructure bill for the people. Chanting “can you hear us?” at the offices of Senators Joe Manchin (WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), sixteen people were detained when they refused to leave an area outside the Senate building.

Among those arrested was Stewart Acuff, a retired union organizer from Jefferson County, West Virginia:

“I'm sick of our Democratic senator who could, with his vote for Build Back Better, lift so many poor families out of poverty," he said. “Poverty, hopelessness and heroin are overwhelming too many of our communities. It is an abomination that Senator Manchin stuffs his pockets from fossil fuel polluters instead of helping our state and our people.”

Also arrested was Rev. Paul A. Dunn, pastor of First Baptist Church in Charleston, West Virginia.

After previously appearing in a commercial supporting Manchin's position on voting rights, Rev. Dunn realized Sen. Manchin's position is just empty words without a willingness to end the filibuster. When Rev. Dunn heard Manchin say that helping West Virginians would give them an entitlement mentality, he knew he had to take a stand for his congregants: “I need you to think about them, Joe, when you think about the Build Back Better plan, voting rights and ending the filibuster,” Rev. Dunn said. “That’s the type of leadership that West Virginia needs.”

Learn more about the bill by clicking the button below.

Why we support the Build Back Better Act.

We are still in this fight. We demand that we Build Back Better from the Bottom Up. This means:

Pass the full Build Back Better plan as a first step
Pass the For the People Act
Pass the Voter Rights Advancement Act
Raise the Minimum Wage to $15/hour
End the Filibuster
Pass protections for all immigrants

When we said we'd be back, we meant it. Tomorrow, Wednesday November 17th, we take to the streets of D.C. again, with People for the American Way and other partners, to urge the Biden-Harris administration to work with the Senate to pass essential voting rights legislation. We have fewer voting rights today than we did in 1965 and it is time to stop the rollback on our democracy by passing the Freedom to Vote Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the D.C. statehood bill. Click here to RSVP for the in-person rally starting at 10am ET.

For those unable to be there in person, we will be livestreaming the event on facebook. Click here to tune in.

Our nation is at a crossroads. Are we going to ensure education for our children or are we going to insulate billionaires from tax cuts?Are we going to provide paid sick leave and pay workers properly or are we going to push policies that will create more money for fewer people? Are politicians going to vote to uplift the whole society and guarantee full access to the ballot or are they going to hide behind a coward’s filibuster and allow voter suppression to go unchecked? Are we going to fight for the soul of the nation and democracy or are we going to let the love of money, which is the root of all evil, be our guiding principle?

We know which side we're on.