March 14, 2023

Restore banking regulations, protect right to asylum, promote African American history, plus more ways to work for progress!

Contact all members of Congress:

• By phone: (202) 224-3121

• By email: democracy.io

• By US mail: Representatives / Senators

• By fax: Representatives / Senators

• By Resistbot: Resist.bot

Contact White House or other federal agencies:

• usa.gov/federal-agencies

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• RESTORE DROPPED BANKING REGULATIONS

  The second largest bank failure in the US happened on Friday, the largest since the 2008 financial crisis.  Silicon Valley Bank is the first bank failure under President Biden.  This bank failure, and the sixteen, eight of which happened before the pandemic, bank failures under Trump were directly tied to the sections of Dodd-Frank Trump rolled back in 2018.  Let’s contact our MoCs and tell them that we want those dropped regulations back on the books. 

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• PROTECT THE RIGHT TO ASYLUM

  Despite claiming to disavow Trump's Title 42, the "return to Mexico" rule, Biden's Homeland Security and DOJ have announced a proposed new regulation that’s troublingly similar.  This one, expected to begin in May, would penalize asylum-seekers who cross the border illegally or fail to apply for protection in the nations they pass through en route to the United States. Activists have argued it ignores the fact that under U.S. immigration law, migrants fleeing persecution can request asylum regardless of how they arrive on U.S. soil, just like these people tried over the weekend. Let’s join the Florence Project , National Immigration Law Center, UndocuBlack Network, and other advocates for immigrants in submitting a comment through the federal register opposing this new rule, and write the White House directly to share our objections. Comments are due by 3/27/23.

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• LICENSE FOR HANDGUNS

  The Handgun Permit to Purchase Act (House, Senate) would create a federal grant program “to incentivize state and local governments to enact laws requiring individuals to obtain a license from law enforcement before purchasing a handgun.” Let’s tell our Senators to co-sponsor S.117  and our Representative to co-sponsor H.R.569.

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• PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

  A bill in Congress called the National Council on African American History and Culture Act of 2023 would create within the National Endowment for the Humanities a council of 12 members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to preserve and help promote the understanding of African American history and culture. Let’s not allow right-wing politicians like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to erase this history and culture, so central to the American story. Let’s tell our two senators to co-sponsor S.215 and our representative to co-sponsor H.R.727.

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• CLARITY & JUSTICE

  As America’s right-wing seeks to bury important historical truths about our country, this interview by Krista Tippett with Isabel Wilkerson, the outstanding author of Caste and The Warmth of Other Suns, is a refresher course in why we can’t allow the lies of denialism. Let’s listen and share: https://onbeing.org/programs/isabel-wilkerson-we-all-know-in-our-bones-that-things-are-harder-than-they-have-to-be/

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