Happy Tuesday, Activists!
In the continuing saga of the crucial For the People Act, we know the vote just to debate the bill fell to the filibuster last week. BUT it's not over, not by a long shot. That's because Democrats are still fighting for its passage and because we the people are fighting hard too, just as you all have been doing with your phone calls.
This week we continue our multi-pronged actions in earnest to push for passage of the bill. The Senate is home in their states and we need them to see a big, bold nationwide movement of visible public events to demand democracy reform, no excuses. So here we go!
Below are the three actions that are essential to show our Senators that you demand democracy reform -- phone calls, tomorrow's rally, and our Constituent Comment Cards! Thank you for all you do!!
RALLY TOMORROW! Let Freedom Ring - Rally To Save Democracy Sign up here.
TOMORROW June 30, 5:00 pm, Independence Mall, 5th and Market St.
Check out our recent newsletter to see why there’s no time to waste to get the For the People Act (S.1) passed in the Senate. Elections experts advise that if the legislation is going to take effect in time to impact the 2022 elections, it needs to pass by this fall. And our Senate allies are asking us to make the Senate feel overwhelming public pressure to get it done.
We know that Congress will only act on hard things if we force them to do it, and passing S.1 is hard. So right now, in this very moment of the legislative fight, we need drama, we need media attention, and we need wide-scale public pressure.
And that's what this rally will do -- we'll make our voices heard publicly and with media coverage We'll have great speakers, music, signs, t-shirts and other fun visuals for you! So come out for an hour and do it! See you there!
P.S. It will be hot tomorrow so bring a hat and some water to stay cool! We'll have shady areas there too.
MAKE THE CALLS!
Sen. Toomey – Phila office 215-241-1090; D.C. 202-224-4254; email link
Sen. Casey – Phila office 215-405-9660; D.C. 202-224-6324; email link
For outside PA: Find your Senators’ phone numbers and emails at this link.
Here’s your script (use different parts of it each day – just make it a quick call.)
The Senate must pass the For the People Act – this summer. There’s no time to lose. Whatever it takes, Senate Democrats must come out now publicly and firmly that they insist that this democracy reform pass because it is essential to our country’s success. Manchin is not the king and Democrats need to put the right pressure on to make him realize this. We worked hard to get the Democratic Trifecta and now our senators need to do their hard work and get this done. Statements on Twitter are not enough – go on TV, to the press, wherever you’ll be heard, and tell the public (and Manchin) that you want and expect the bill to pass. Also, please tell President Biden to use his bully pulpit to put pressure on the holdout senators.
CONSTITUENT COMMENT CARDS!
We know you want to tell our Senators that you demand democracy reform and here's a way to do it directly and easily: Constituent Comment Cards! Check out the instructions below to fill out and email us two cards--one each for Senators Casey and Toomey. We'll print them all out and deliver them to the Senate offices--having a big stack of cards from their constituents can have a big impact. Get started by clicking the link on the Let Freedom Ring image here.
The instructions:
Click on the image above to download the Word document.
Open the document, which has one page to be filled out for each Senator.
Save the document. Fill it out with your comments and information.
Email it back to us at this link (or just reply to this email with it).
We’ll print it out and deliver them all to the offices with a cover letter.
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LAST WEEK'S MEETING $1.4 Billion for Philly -- Spending and the American Rescue Plan
Thank you for coming to our super interesting meeting last week with Rebecca Rhynhart and Nick Hand, the leader of Rhynhart's team issuing her recent report on alternatives for spending the $1.4 billion American Rescue Plan money coming to the city. You can read the report here. If you missed the meeting you can watch the video at this link.