Tell Congress To Do Their Job - Again

Happy Friday, Activists!

We hope your week has been a good one.  Today we have an update on the War Powers Resolutions moving for another vote in the Senate.  Some good news on the last one by Senator Kaine and still more to do.  Thank you for your work on this and for all your work with us on everything else! You all are champions and we love being in it with you!

You can see Tuesday's newsletter here to see the Call To Action on investigating Pete Hegseth, which is still a worthy phone call. 

CALL TO ACTION

SUPPORT THE NEW WAR POWERS RESOLUTIONS

As you know from our earlier newsletter, Senator Tim Kaine and others sponsored a resolution for Congress to finally do its job and require Congressional authorization for war before Trump just decides on his own to take our country into war in Venezuela. That one failed to win enough votes.  It was submitted again, failed again, and now there are two up for a vote in the Senate.  One by Sen. Kaine again and another one by Sen. Merkely.  We need our Senators to vote yes on these resolutions. 

There is another one in the House and it reads that its purpose is: "To direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress."  Rep. Pramila Jayapal said that the oil tanker seizure "made it even more important to secure a vote this month." Plus there is an expectation that there will be more seizures.  

Call your House Rep. and our Senators and tell them they need to be on the right side of history and vote to impose Congress's power and prohibit the president from engaging in a war without their approval. 

And importantly in our neck of the woods, Senator Fetterman voted NO on the first vote on Sen. Kaine's Resolution. In the second submission on it Fetterman voted YES.  So let's thank him for the yes vote and demand he keep voting YES on these resolutions.

Here are the contacts to call and write:

Rep. Evans – D.C. 202-225-4001; Phila. office (215) 276-0340; email link

Rep. Boyle – D.C. office 202-225-6111; Phila office 215-335-3355; email link

Rep. Scanlon -- D.C. office 202-225-2011; Chester office (610) 626-2020; email link

Outside Philadelphia?  Find your Representative here.

Sen. McCormick – Phila office 215-405-9660; D.C. office 202-224-6324; email link

Sen. Fetterman – Phila office 215-241-1090; D.C. 202-224-4254; email link

For outside PA:  Find your senators’ phone numbers and emails at this link.

And for more information on the Venezuela situation, if Trump goes to war in Venezuela, we will join our friends at Peace, Justice, Sustainability, NOW, who are planning a protest the following day.  You can check out the announcement here to get alerts if this happens.  We will also announce it.

 HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP IMMIGRANTS

Here are some ways you can support HIAS in its mission to support to our immigrant community.

• To provide a financial donation, you can go here.

• To learn more about providing In-Kind Donations such as winter coats, you can go here. 

• To learn more about volunteer opportunities, you can go here. 

• To access Know Your Rights resources, translated in multiple languages, you can go here. 

• To sign up for the HIAS PA mailing list, you can go here. 

You can see more about the Prayer Vigils outside of the ICE Office organized by Sen. Art Haywood every Monday at 11 AM at the corner of North 8th Street and Cherry St. Philadelphia. Go here for the info.

You can contact HIAS for any additional questions, contact community@hiaspa.org.

WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We have a lot to talk about!

"I'm grateful for the work you do and this letter-writing community you've created. Having this support certainly got me going on letter writing, something I might not have done on my own, and your emails remind me to keep doing it."  

These are the words of one of our letter writers to Meg Berlin, our LTE Team lead.  We couldn't be more proud of this team for all its work getting the word out. And another letter, written by team member Maria, was just published!  That's in addition to the many others already published.

Join this fantastic team and learn the best techniques for getting your views published.  We'll give you topical ideas and tips to effectively send your thoughts to folks willing to consider another point of view.

Even if you're just not sure if you want to join, you can sign up and find out more to make your decision.  Sign up here.  

Or just get answers to your questions by emailing us here. 

JOIN OUR LEAFLET PHILLY TEAM!

Join this exciting team and hang door hangers once a month. It's easy and effective!  

Here's how it works. You'll receive 100 door hangers to hang on door knobs up and down the block. We'll give you the specific blocks near your home for you to go to. 

We're currently dropping 54,000 door hangers around the city right now - that's 10% of the city's reachable doors!  We're reminding people that those higher food prices for their holiday meals are not in their imagination - plus who is causing it and who to call about it.  

MORE PROTESTS YOU CAN JOIN

1.  Springfield protest - Every Saturday, 1:00 - 2:00 at the intersection of Baltimore Pike and PA Route 320.  Bring your signs on your favorite topic!  

2. Tesla Takedown Protest - Every Saturday - 11:00 - Noon

Tesla Takedown Devon - At the Tesla showroom, 470 Lancaster Ave, Devon, PA 

3. Every Friday -- 11:15 am- Join Fridays@Fetterman's for the weekly Friday vigil for peace in Gaza/Palestine outside of Senator John Fetterman's office at 200 Chestnut Street from 11:15 am to 12:15 pm. Register here  

4.  Fitz Friday - 4:00 - 5:00 pm -- Protest at Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick's office at One Summit Square, Langhorne, PA. Bring signs about whatever you want. There's a lot to complain about!

5. Every Wednesday 5:30 - 6:30 pm (winter hours and location) -- Join this resistance group at #WeThePeopleWednesdays for Singing for Sanity at Unitarian Universalist Church, 6900 Stenton Avenue.  More information is here.  Bring your flashlights!

6. Every Monday at Noon - Monday at McCormick's -- Join our friends at Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW for Monday's at McCormick's, in front of Senator McCormick's office at 20th and Market Streets.

7. Are you outside the Philadelphia area?  You can see all the protests planned by Indivisibles in your area at this link. 

And One More Thing:

We can send you our No Kings t-shirt!  First, make a donation of $35 . Then, check out the t-shirts, sign up for your choice and we'll send it to you to wear any time! 

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