December 19, 2024
Impending shutdown, ringing the alarm on abortion pills, last chance to forgive student loans, and more!
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THE BOTTOM LINE ON FUNDING THE GOVERNMENT
Congressional leadership had put together a flawed but functional agreement to fund the government through March, including badly-needed disaster aid for areas affected by Hurricane Helene. Then Elon Musk started tweeting. Now the deal is dead, Donald Trump is adding an out-of-nowhere demand for a debt ceiling hike to be included to pave the way for more tax cuts for billionaires, Republicans are taking shots at each other through the media, and we’re headed towards a shutdown at 12:01am Saturday. The only thing the GOP seems clear on is they don’t want to include the disaster aid. So let’s be just as clear: this is Trump and Elon’s mess, and this will be Trump and Elon’s shutdown. House Dems leader Hakeem Jeffries firmly stated that Democrats will not be bailing them out of the mess they’ve made – if they want Democratic votes, they can go back to the original deal they made with Democrats. If we’re represented by congressional Democrats, let’s let them know we agree they should not clean up after the GOP by providing votes for whatever new scheme they come up with in the next 36 hours. If we’re represented by congressional Republicans, let’s tell them to stop being so afraid of Elon Musk’s mean tweets, do their job, and pass the original deal with the disaster aid included.
THE MUSK SHUTDOWN AND THE RUSSIA CONNECTION
Right now, the headlines are all about Elon Musk demanding Republicans shut down the government rather than spend on disaster aid. His role as functional co-president to Trump makes what we’ve learned about him in recent weeks worth a bigger spotlight. Since 2020, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX has received $2.5 billion in defense contracts, a clear conflict of interest with his role in the upcoming administration. And now it’s been revealed that Musk has been in regular communication with Vladimir Putin since 2022, a period during which he actively thwarted a Ukrainian offensive against Russia. This article from Axios details the conundrum that the U.S. government has found itself in due to Musk’s actions. Subsequent reporting has found that Musk has also repeatedly failed to comply with federal reporting requirements aimed at protecting state secrets and nine different allied nations have expressed concerns that he could share sensitive data inappropriately. Democratic senators have sought – and gotten – a federal probe into Musk’s actions. But as Elon Musk apparently has the power to threaten federal employees’ jobs and stall government funding, such an investigation likely needs to come from outside the executive branch to be effective. Let’s reach out to our members of Congress and ask them to back a full investigation into Musk’s contacts with Russia and his handling of our nation’s secrets, and urge them to put their constituents before their desire not to get attacked in one of his tweets. Let’s also tell them not to let Musk bully them out of a bipartisan agreement to keep the government working.
SIREN ON ABORTION PILL ACCESS
Reproductive rights advocates warned that access to abortion pills was at risk if Trump were reelected, and the Trump team again has given us indications they were completely right. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) told the press Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has expressed openness to new restrictions on mifepristone if he is confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Trump team lied their way through the campaign on this issue, and we will not quietly let them keep lying. Let’s reach out to our members of Congress and remind them this is not what the American people were told they were voting for and ask them to support measures like Senator Tina Smith and Rep. Cori Bush’s Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act to ensure the legality of mifepristone and guarantee it will remain available through telehealth and mail-order pharmacies. With our senators, let’s add that they need to use this time and confirmation hearings to nail down exactly what Kennedy and Trump’s plans are for limiting access to abortion.
LAST CHANCE AT STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS
While President Biden was stymied by a right-wing takeover of the courts from keeping his promises on student loan forgiveness, he was able to erase $17.5 billion in debt for 4.8 million borrowers. And he still has an opportunity in these waning weeks of his presidency to take further action towards fulfilling his pledge to the remaining 35 million Americans hoping for it. Activists have urged Joe Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to finally process pending borrower defense applications for 400,000 people who were defrauded or misled by their colleges, and use their power under Section 902.2 of the Federal Claims Collection Standard Act to discharge loans for debtors over 50 and borrowers in long-term default. Let’s contact the White House and the Department of Education and urge them to take these actions for student loan forgiveness while they still can.
STOP INSTITUTIONAL CHILD ABUSE
Last week, in a rare display of bipartisanship, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act (SICAA) (S. 1351/H.R. 2955), which would create oversight and accountability for youth residential programs, otherwise known as the "troubled teen industry." For decades, these programs have largely operated without check, resulting in multiple reports of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse. While the SICAA has widespread support, we have just hours left in this legislative session. Let's read more about the SICAA, use the social media toolkit available at the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act website, then let's call our representatives in the House and ask them to pass this crucial legislation as soon as possible.
Thank you for your work in sharing very vital information for democrats. Please continue to provide direction on how to move through this crisis in our country…