Actions for the Week of 5/18/25
How to contact your elected officials
Use this link to find contact information for ALL of your elected officials – Federal, State, City, and County – just by entering your address
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Other useful links:
Find contact info for your senator: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
Find contact info for your House representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
Find contact info for your state attorney general: https://www.usa.gov/state-attorney-general
Find contact info for your governor: https://www.usa.gov/state-governor
Last week, we contacted our senators and House rep about the proposed massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in the GOP budget bill to help pay for tax breaks for the wealthy. This week we're telling them to oppose 3 other terrible provisions in the bill that jeopardize the future of Planned Parenthood, public schools, and the right of judges to enforce contempt of court rulings. Call or email your senators and House rep demanding that these provisions be removed from the final bill. Background and example scripts for each issue are adapted from Joe Katz at Rogan's List - 5/14/25.
Defend Planned Parenthood
The Energy and Commerce section of the GOP budget bill includes plans to “defund” Planned Parenthood by blocking Medicaid reimbursements to health providers that offer abortions, even though the Hyde Amendment already bans federal funds from being used for abortions. This could put access to birth control, STI screenings, cancer screenings, and other lifesaving care out of reach for low-income families. Planned Parenthood serves 2 million people every year, and for many of them it’s their only source of health care – 64% of their health centers are in medically underserved, health professional shortage, or rural areas.
Example script:
I urge you to protect Planned Parenthood for the millions of people who rely on their health centers for birth control, life-saving cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more. Right now, politicians who oppose Planned Parenthood are threatening our health care through targeted attacks and attempts to gut programs for sexual and reproductive health care. Proposed cuts to Medicaid and attempts to “defund” Planned Parenthood health centers amount to the same thing: your constituents won’t get the care they need, communities will suffer, and everyone’s costs will skyrocket. Planned Parenthood health centers are often one of the few places available that accept Medicaid for sexual and reproductive health care. Without Planned Parenthood, people may have nowhere to turn for care.
Thank you for your consideration.
Oppose the Private School Voucher Plan
House Republicans have included a school privatization plan in the GOP budget reconciliation bill that would set aside $5 billion every year for scholarships to send kids to private and religious schools. This would be funded by donors who would receive 100% of the contribution back as a tax credit - a tax shelter for the wealthy that turns public funds into private subsidies while undermining public schools. It allows funds to flow to private institutions that can discriminate against students and ignore curriculum standards without having to report educational outcomes. This will exacerbate educational disparities, particularly affecting students with disabilities and those from low-income communities. Learn more about the school privatization scheme from the National Coalition for Public Education here.
Example script:
The budget reconciliation bill includes language from the Educational Choice for Children Act, which is a scam that gives wealthy people tax shelters and sends billions of public dollars to private schools, while our public schools are already underfunded. I urge you to oppose this privatization plan which will exacerbate educational disparities, particularly affecting students with disabilities and those from low-income communities.
Thank you for your consideration.
Oppose GOP Attempts to Strip Judges of Power to Enforce Contempt of Court Rulings
As reported here and here, the House Judiciary Committee added a provision to the GOP reconciliation bill banning federal judges from enforcing contempt of court rulings over a wide range of court orders. This measure comes as the administration repeatedly defies the judiciary and at least two federal judges are actively suggesting they’ll hold Trump officials in contempt. Instead of standing up against Trump’s dictatorial power grabs, Republicans like Jim Jordan are trying to make it harder for those who believe in democracy to stop him. This is an affront to the rule of law and to checks and balances, a free pass for Trump to act like a king.
Example script:
I am among the eight in ten Americans who believes that if a federal court rules the White House has done something illegal, the administration must accept the judiciary’s ruling and stop its illegal acts. Checks and balances among the three branches of government have been a fundamental principle in this nation since its founding.
Section 70303 of the Judiciary Committee’s section of the reconciliation bill, the ban on federal judges enforcing contempt of court rulings over a wide range of court orders, is an attack on that principle and gives a free pass to lawlessness. It must be removed, and I am calling on you to take whatever action is necessary to ensure it is.
Thank you for your consideration.