Category: Members Of Congress

Green New Deal Demonstrates Real Climate Leadership

2/4/2019

Green New Deal Week - Monday, Feb 4th - Friday, Feb 8th

Friends of the Earth
Nationwide Event

From February 4th to 8th, help bring the call for Real Climate Leadership to your Congressperson’s doorstep. We will ramp up our call for a Green New Deal by calling on our Representatives to:

Halt all new fossil fuel extraction, infrastructure and subsidies, and transition power generation to 100% renewable energy by 2035 or sooner.
Rapidly decarbonize agriculture and transportation sectors and expand access to public transportation.
Ensure a Fair & Just Transition led by impacted workers and communities, including low income and communities of color, without relying on corporate schemes or market-based mechanisms.
Uphold Indigenous Rights
Pass a national jobs guarantee, creating good jobs with collective bargaining and family-sustaining wages.

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Government Shutdown Is Unacceptable!

1/21/2019

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Call NOW (and Daily) to ReOpen the Government

PACG Board President

Call the White House and Your U.S. Legislators TODAY! Demand that they think of all the people who are not receiving their paychecks and open the government ASAP!

White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111
U.S. Senate Switchboard: 202-224-3121
U.S. House of Representatives Switchboard: 202-224-1904

Allison Ambrose,
PACG Board President

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A Message from the Health Care Reform Forum

1/14/2019

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Have You Contacted Your Senators Lately About the ACA?

A month ago, we were all alarmed about a Texas judge’s ruling that the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. He ruled that, since the requirement for all to carry health insurance was eliminated in the 2018 tax law, the entire Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. If upheld, his ruling would strip away quality, affordable health insurance from millions of Americans, including protection for over 133 million Americans from losing coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Fortunately that ruling was widely criticized as faulty, or even frivolous, and Attorneys General of 17 states, including Illinois AG Lisa Madigan, have challenged the ruling in court. This and other legal appeals insure that the ACA benefits will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. So for now at least, the over 8.4 million Americans who signed up for insurance in 2019 on the ACA marketplaces will continue to have the security of good health insurance.

The midterm elections changed the political dynamics in the House of Representatives, and the new membership has already begun to take actions to support the ACA and to address the issue of the rapidly increasing cost of prescription drugs. The majority in the new House has formally authorized attorneys to join those who are challenging the ruling of the Texas judge, and this past week 235 members voted to support the ACA protections for those with pre-existing conditions.

We recognize that actions by the people’s House will probably be buried in the Senate and/or be vetoed by the President, but they will send an important message to all legislators, and to the public, that quality, affordable health insurance is supported by most Americans.

Our forum will continue to monitor developments in health care and inform you of actions you can take to support positive reform proposals. In the meantime, continue to contact your legislators and urge them again to recognize the popular support for quality, affordable health care, including coverage for pre-existing conditions, and to add their voices and votes to legislation that moves toward the goal of effective, accessible, affordable health care for all Americans.

Thank you for all you have done—and keep up the good work!

Frank Samuelson,
Health Care Reform Forum
cfsam22@gmail.com

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Environmental Forum's 2019 Goals

12/17/2018

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News from the Environmental Forum's Last Meeting of 2018

The Environmental Forum met on Monday, December 3rd. We discussed upcoming goals for 2019, and are reviewing two primary efforts.

One involves a focus on the Iowa and Illinois legislatures. We will be meeting with state and federal representatives from both states and would like to have volunteers from specific districts to join us when we meet with congresspersons. We will listen and share our concerns about environmental issues.
Our second focus will be expanding our networking to local colleges, specifically their environmental groups, professors teaching courses in environmental science, and administrative staff who control the college's energy systems.

We encourage everyone to join us for our monthly meetings on the first Monday of each month, at 6:30 at Cobblestone Place.

Lori McCollum
lori_mccollum@sbcglobal.net

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Take Action to Stop the Department of the Interior Records Destruction!

11/12/2018

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Stop the Massive Destruction of Department of Interior Records by Secretary Ryan Zinke
Comment Period Ends: Friday, November 23rd 5:00 pm

Environmental Forum
The National Archives and Records Administration

The Department of the Interior has sent National Archives & Records Administration (NARA) a massive "Request for Records Disposition Authority," (i.e. permission to destroy old records.)

Interior’s request involves documents about oil and gas leases, mining, dams, wells, timber sales, marine conservation, fishing, endangered species, non-endangered species, critical habitats, land acquisition, and more.

The request covers these categories of documents from every agency within the Interior Department, including the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and others.

The request covers already-existing documents going back more than 50 years and consisting of thousands of cubic feet of paper documents and gigabytes of digital documents. Besides existing documents, as usual, the proposed schedule will also apply to all future documents created in these categories (whether on paper or born digital). Source: altgov2.org/doi-records-destruction/

Action:

Email request.schedule@nara.gov with a Public Comment. Deadline: November 23, 2018.

Sample Script:
"I am writing about action DAA-0048-2015-0003. I am against this massive destruction of records. This content would normally be kept and preserved by the U.S. Department of Interior. I am asking National Archives to deny Secretary Zinke's request so that these records are kept as they should be." [Sign with your name]

Call your representatives. Here is a suggested call Script:
"My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Progression Action for the Common Good in the Quad Cities.

"Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has asked the National Archives for a massive destruction of records that normally are kept for historical purposes. This is an unusual and troubling request. I am asking you to investigate this request and to stop the destruction of important and valuable records. The National Archives ID number is DAA-0048-2015-0003."

ILLINOIS

Senator Dick Durbin (D) 202-224-2152 or 309-786-5173

Senator Tammy Duckworth (D) 202-224-2854 or 312- 886-3506

US Representative Cheri Bustos (D) 202-225-5905 or 309-786-3406

IOWA

Senator Chuck Grassley (R) 202-224-3744 or 563-322-433

Senator Joni Ernst (R) 202-224-3254 or 563-322-0677

Representative Dave Loebsack (D) 202 225-6576 or 563-323-5988

We need to act now!!

Susan Leuthauser
swleuthauser@gmail.com

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Nobody is Above the Law - Rapid Response for Jeff Sessions Firing

11/8/2018

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Attend the Nobody is Above the Law Rally TODAY at 5:00 pm
Davenport - LeClaire Park 400 West Beiderbecke DR (map)
Rock Island - US County Clerk 211 19th ST (map)

With the firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions yesterday, Donald Trump is demonstrating his intention to put himself above the law. We won’t allow it.

Trump is compromising the Special Counsel investigation and will create a constitutional crisis if he fires special counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller.

Our response is imperative now! We must show Members of Congress that they need to stand up to Trump or allow him to move our democracy toward authoritarianism.

From the MoveOn rally organizers: "Donald Trump has installed a crony to oversee the special counsel's Trump-Russia investigation, crossing a red line set to protect the investigation. By replacing Rod Rosenstein with just-named Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker as special counsel Robert Mueller's boss on the investigation, Trump has undercut the independence of the investigation. Whitaker has publicly outlined strategies to stifle the investigation and cannot be allowed to remain in charge of it. The Nobody Is Above the Law network demands that Whitaker immediately commit not to assume supervision of the investigation. Our hundreds of response events are being launched to demonstrate the public demand for action to correct this injustice. We will update this page as the situation develops."

MoveOn is holding emergency “Nobody is Above the Law” rallies around the country TODAY at 5:00 pm local time. There are over 900 of these demonstrations planned, in every state, with 350,000 RSVPs to date!

RSVP to attend the rallies today. Nobody is Above the Law – Mueller Firing Rapid Response rallies here:

For Davenport RSVP here.

For Rock Island RSVP here.

Alta Price

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What You Can Do Now in Illinois - VOTE & Dine with Friends October 24th!

10/22/2018

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VOTE at the Moline Public Library, (3210 41st St, Moline) (map)
Dine at the Quad Cities USA Family Restaurant 4910 22nd Ave, Moline (map )
Date: Wednesday, October 24th
Time: Noon to 6 pm to VOTE, 6:15 pm to dine

If you are registered to vote in Illinois, and have not voted or sent in your Absentee Ballot, VOTE with your progressive friends at the Moline Public Library between noon and 6 pm on Wednesday, October 24.

If you have an Absentee Ballot, bring it along and ask the people at the polls what to do with it. They will either have you vote using the Absentee Ballot or have you surrender the Absentee Ballot and give you a new ballot to use.

No matter how or when you're voting, join your progressive friends for dinner at the Quad Cities USA Family Restaurant in Moline (behind Arby’s). We will be dining between 6:15 and 8:00 pm.

PACG board members won't be at the library all afternoon, but we'll get there by late afternoon & head over to the restaurant at 6. Feel free to meet us at the restaurant or travel with us from the library.

Check out our Illinois: VOTE & Eat Facebook event page!

Linnea Crowther
linneacrowther@gmail.com

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A Message On Healthcare

7/23/2018

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Healthcare Forum

As progressives we have plenty of issues to protest about these days. Let us not forget to keep reminding our legislators of the importance of health care issues. This administration has weakened the Affordable Care Act by repealing the individual mandate and thereby causing insurance premiums to rise. It has shortened the enrollment period, cut the budget for advertising and outreach, and reduced the funding for ACA Navigators to 16% of 2016 levels. Moreover, the administration has stopped requiring profitable insurance companies to help struggling insurers who have many more sick patients, and it is now threatening to allow cheap (and inadequate) insurance policies that do not cover pre-existing conditions and other important benefits to enter the fray.

As you contact your legislators, keep reminding them that adequate, accessible, affordable, health care should be available to all Americans. Share your convictions on health care issues with your families, friends and neighbors. Ask legislative candidates about their commitment to the Affordable Care Act and other health care issues, and express your commitment when you vote in November. Elections do matter!

Thank you!

Frank Samuelson
cfsam22@gmail.com

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What You Can Do Now: Local Actions to Reunite Families

6/22/2018

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What You Can Do Now: Local Actions to Reunite Families

Despite Trump’s executive order, our country is still locking up children on our southern border, hopefully without separating them from their parents. Families seeking asylum can be locked up indefinitely under this executive order. There is NO plan to reunite the kidnapped children with their parents, some of whom are in the process of being deported.

Read this information from the ACLU: Fact-Checking Family Separation

The way we treat refugees seeking asylum violates international law and treaties we have signed, as discussed in this diary at Daily Kos: The Immigration Law No One is Talking About.

Actions you can take:

Attend a Rally or Prayer Vigil.

Defending the Children Rally
            When: Saturday, June 23 at 1 pm
            Where: Faye’s Field, near the Bettendorf Public Library, 18th and Spruce Hills Drive
            Music by Laura Rodriguez. Bring signs (Where Are the Children?, etc.)

Prayer Vigil and Letter Writing Action Event
            When: Saturday, June 23 at 7 pm
            Where: First Presbyterian Church, 1702 Iowa St, Davenport
            Contact: styrt@fpcdavenport.org to read/lead

Keep Families Together Rally: Madres Unidas/Mothers United
            When: Saturday, June 30 at 11 am
            Where: Vander Veer Park, Davenport
            Register to attend here.

            We are collecting new or gently used children’s shoes to use during our action.
            We will then donate them. Through noon on Friday June 29 you can bring the shoes
            to Metropolitan Community Church, 2930 Locust St, Davenport. Please drop off
            during business hours.

Keep Families Together Rally
            When: Monday, July 2 at 5 pm
            Where: In front of Davenport offices of Senators Ernst and Grassley
            Hosted by: Quad Cities Interfaith

            We will be delivering a cage with stuffed animals to their offices, calling
on them to take a stand and release the 2,000 children in detention.

Call Congress to tell them:

You want the kidnapped children returned to their parents.
End the zero-tolerance policy that would lock up families indefinitely.
Bring back the Family Case Management Program that Trump ended in June 2017 which allowed families to be placed into a program, together, that connected them with a case manager and legal orientation that ensured they understood how to apply for asylum and attend immigration court proceedings. The program had a 99.6 percent appearance rate at immigration court hearings for those enrolled in the program.

Iowa:

Senator Chuck Grassley (202) 224-3744
Senator Joni Ernst (202) 224-3254
Rep. Dave Loebsack (202) 225-6576

Illinois:

Senator Tammy Duckworth (202) 224-2854
Senator Dick Durbin (202) 224-2152
Rep. Cheri Bustos (202) 225-5905

Alta Price, PACG Board President

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What You Can Do Now - Rally at Grassley's Davenport Office to Keep Families Together

5/13/2018

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Rally at Senator Grassley's Davenport Office to Keep Families Together!

Join Quad Cities Interfaith (QCI) and allies at a peaceful demonstration at Grassley’s office to tell the Senator to take action to: “Keep Families Together!”

Monday, May 14th, 5:00 p.m., Senator Chuck Grassley’s Davenport office, 201 W 2nd St, Davenport, Iowa (we will rally out front of the building)

This week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced policy that the U.S. government would separate families detained at the U.S./Mexico border.
On Wednesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) collaborated with local police in a raid that led to the detention of 32 workers at a concrete factory in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Children of those detained are being cared for by neighbors; 32 families are without their primary bread winner. The raid has spread fear among our immigrant neighbors throughout the state, who fear their town could be next.

*This rally is held in solidarity with our friends at the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa, at Grassley’s Cedar Rapids office, also May 14 at 5:00. Cedar Rapids is also the location of ICE’s local detention center. Please join us either in Cedar Rapids or Davenport.

Call QCI Organizer Aaron Wagner at 641-990-4594 with questions.

El tiempo por justicia es ahora (The time for justice is now)

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Green New Deal Week - Monday, Feb 4th - Friday, Feb 8th

Call NOW (and Daily) to ReOpen the Government

Have You Contacted Your Senators Lately About the ACA?

News from the Environmental Forum's Last Meeting of 2018

Stop the Massive Destruction of Department of Interior Records by Secretary Ryan Zinke**Comment Period Ends: Friday, November 23rd 5:00 pm**Environmental ForumThe National Archives and Records Administration

Attend the Nobody is Above the Law Rally TODAY at 5:00 pm Davenport - LeClaire Park 400 West Beiderbecke DR (map) Rock Island - US County Clerk 211 19th ST (map)

VOTE at the Moline Public Library, (3210 41st St, Moline) (map)Dine at the Quad Cities USA Family Restaurant 4910 22nd Ave, Moline (map )Date: Wednesday, October 24thTime: Noon to 6 pm to VOTE, 6:15 pm to dine

What You Can Do Now: Local Actions to Reunite Families

Rally at Senator Grassley's Davenport Office to Keep Families Together!

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Stop the Massive Destruction of Department of Interior Records by Secretary Ryan Zinke
Comment Period Ends: Friday, November 23rd 5:00 pm

Environmental Forum
The National Archives and Records Administration

Attend the Nobody is Above the Law Rally TODAY at 5:00 pm
Davenport - LeClaire Park 400 West Beiderbecke DR (map)
Rock Island - US County Clerk 211 19th ST (map)

VOTE at the Moline Public Library, (3210 41st St, Moline) (map)
Dine at the Quad Cities USA Family Restaurant 4910 22nd Ave, Moline (map )
Date: Wednesday, October 24th
Time: Noon to 6 pm to VOTE, 6:15 pm to dine