February 17, 2025

#FireElon phonebanks, don't let the House have a relaxing recess, protests today and Wednesday, and more!

Contact all members of Congress:

• By phone: (202) 224-3121

• By email: Congress.gov

• By US mail: Representatives / Senators

• By fax: Representatives / Senators

• By Resistbot: Resist.bot

Contact White House or other federal agencies:

• usa.gov/federal-agencies

If you have questions, comments, and especially submissions for actions, please email us at roganslisttips@gmail.com!

• ELON MUSK MUST BE REMOVED – PHONEBANK TOMORROW

  Unelected billionaire Elon Musk is risking our personal data and gleefully destroying programs and services Americans depend on every day. And the “savings” he claims will result are going to go straight into his own pocket – through tax cuts or new government contracts to his businesses. We need to get this oligarch out of our government. The Working Families Party is organizing a push this week to make our anger known in Washington. Let’s join them by texting “FIRE ELON” to 30403 to be patched through to our senators and demand they remove Musk and his DOGE henchmen from our government. And we can also sign up here for their phonebank TOMORROW from 2-4PM, where we’ll reach out to voters in Republican districts and urge them to call their members of Congress as well.

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• HOLD YOUR REP ACCOUNTABLE DURING THIS WEEK’S RECESS

  This week the House is on recess, giving us each an opportunity to meet with our representatives locally, ask questions, and hold them accountable for actions that they've already taken. The recess also comes with the House actively at work on their proposed budget, which will target programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid with massive spending cuts, and possibly even work requirements. Meanwhile, Elon Musk and DOGE workers are tearing through each government agency they can gain access to, with little to no transparency or accountability for their actions. Indivisible.org has launched a campaign to schedule an event with every representatives this recess in order to force Republicans to answer for their horrendous budget proposals and handover of power to Musk, and to remind Democrats that they have power and we expect them to use it to fight back. The event can be a district office visit, a virtual town hall, or – if the rep refuses to show up – an empty chair event. This “Musk or Us” toolkit has details on how to plan and/or join an already existing event. Let’s find out if there are actions near us, and/or get resources to organize our own with the guide.

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• OPPOSE BILL PUNISHING SANCTUARY CITIES
  H.R.32, the "No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act," would allow the federal government to block federal funding for jurisdictions that don't cooperate with ICE requests. This would affect school lunches, emergency medical care, transportation grants, and many other essential services, putting entire communities in jeopardy. Last year, 12 Democrats joined Republicans in passing this draconian bill. As stated in a letter opposing this bill signed by more than 250 organizations, states deserve the right to limit their role in immigration enforcement in order to meet critical goals and priorities of their residents, conserve local resources and avoid a deterioration of trust in public institutions, like hospitals and public schools. Meanwhile, entanglement in the federal immigration system has been associated with housing instability, chronic student absenteeism, low birth weight, negative child well-being outcomes, and decreased use of preventive and prenatal care. Let’s tell our MoCs to vote NO on this bill and remind them that they have a responsibility to serve all the residents of their districts and denying people essential services in order to push policy is cruel and unusual punishment. We can use this call script from the ACLU and find sample language from the League of Women Voters here.

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• #SAVEOURSERVICES DAY OF ACTION FOR FEDERAL WORKERS WEDNESDAY

  Much as Russ Vought promised, federal employees are being put in trauma by the civil service purge and the takeover of the federal government. They’re worried about their jobs, and they’re worried about their vital work. But these public servants are also ready to fight back. Following multiple protests held by public sector labor organizers in DC, the Federal Unionists Network is calling for a Save Our Services Day of Action this WEDNESDAY, February 19th. They’ll be holding local rallies nationwide and encouraging folks to post #SaveOurServices selfies on social media, following in the footsteps of the successful #RedForEd movement. Let’s take part in the social media action and try to make it to a rally for #SaveOurServices Day. (We can also hit the streets in protest TODAY, as 50501 celebrates Presidents’ Day by demanding limits on executive power - we can find one near us here.)

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• HOW ORGANIZED TENANTS WON A RENT REDUCTION – PRESENTATION TONIGHT

  The role of community organizing will be critical in stopping the oligarchs and rebuilding American democracy. Central in that field are tenants unions, who are at the forefront of the movement for affordable housing and balancing the scales in an increasingly corporate-controlled housing market. In 2022, tenants in Kingston, New York won the first-ever rent reduction ordered by a rent guidelines board, reducing rent for over 1200 households. Brahvan Range, political director of For The Many, will lead an online presentation on how they did it TONIGHT at 8PM. We can sign up to attend here. Let’s also take this opportunity to look into tenant organizing in our communities and how we can support it.

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