Week of April 17, 2017
ALL WEEK: Congressional Recess – Check for Town Halls or Hold One of your Own
Congress is in recess, meaning they are traveling within their districts, allegedly to meet with constituents. Town Halls and other pubic appearances will be scheduled on short notice, so watch this space for regular updates. If there aren’t any official events scheduled, call them and ask why. They work for you, and you have a voice.
There are other “Constituent Town Halls” (events where your MoC probably won’t appear) popping up, and you can also create your own. It’s fun!
ALL WEEK: Make plans for the Kids’ Climate Action on Thursday
If you have children or grandchildren (or just small humans in your care), start making your after-school plans to join the Kids’ Climate Action on Thursday, April 20. See our Kids’ Climate Action toolkit for details.
Monday, April 17
All day. Call your MoC and ask three things:
- Is it okay for the President to use the office for personal, financial gain?
- Is it okay to change the tax code in ways that could personally benefit the President and his family members?
- Is it okay to hide the truth of whatever is in the President’s tax returns, obscuring his conflicts of interest?
Here’s our Board President, Lisa Benjamin Goodgame, at the Tax March rallying the crowd to do these three things. Pick up the phone!
Tuesday, April 18
All Day. Tell your Members of Congress to Vote Against Deportation Funding
Congress needs to pass a funding bill by April 28 of this year, or the government will shut down. And Donald Trump is using the budget process to ram through one of his most vicious policies.
Trump is requesting additional money (a “supplemental request”) in order to begin work on his border wall, expand his internal deportation force, and add more detention facilities to hold immigrants. This money will be used to rip apart American families, harm communities, and make us all less safe.
And how does he plan to pay for this? By cutting funding from essential programs that actually keep us safe and healthy—programs like education, housing, disease prevention, disaster response, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Tell your MoCs that you don’t want Congress to spend one penny more to fund Trump’s deportation force, detention facilities or border wall. Tell them that you don’t want funding for essential programs cut.
This is especially relevant in Texas, where Trump’s first private prison for immigrants is already in the works.
8 to 9 p.m. Indivisible Austin Conference Call
Topic and guest speakers TBD.
Dial-in Number: 1-(712) 770-8067
Conference Code: 409542
Wednesday, April 19
ALL DAY. Tell MoCs to Investigate Russian Interference in the Election
Each day the American people watch as new bombshells drop related to Russian interference in the 2016 election, and connections between Russia and the Trump administration emerge. Trump officials have lied, been forced to resign, and now are shopping for immunity. Alarmingly, key Republicans leading investigations into Russia have closed ranks to protect Donald Trump, suppressing testimony and public hearings.
Enough is enough. The American people deserve better. Congress should appoint a special commission to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. Members of Congress have introduced bills in both the House and Senate that propose setting up an independent commission, composed of experts outside of Congress, to examine Russian influence in the 2016 election.
Ask your Representative to co-sponsor the Protecting Our Democracy Act (bill number H.R. 356). This bill would create an independent commission to investigate Russian interference in our elections.
Ask your Senator to co-sponsor Senator Cardin’s bill S. 27, which would similarly establish an independent commission to investigate Russian interference.
10 a.m. to noon. TX-21 Indivisible Rally to Keep the Hill Country Beautiful
700 Main St, Kerrville, TX 78028
The rally to Keep Our Hill Country Beautiful is happening April 19 from 10:00 AM until noon (or later if we are having too much fun)! Dr. Bob Elde, co-founder of the Hill Country Science Mill, is our special guest speaker! Bob is our Hill Country neighbor and a scientist, author, educator, and environmental expert. You should not miss this. Bring a hand-written letter on environmental issues addressed to “Lamar” to participate in a special event! Rally participants from all over the district are invited!
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Indivisible Austin Coffee Meetup
Epoch Coffee at the Village, 2700 W Anderson Ln #409
A casual weekly meet-up for Indivisible Austin members and interested parties. Drop by to say hello, meet some of the members, grab a bumper sticker and wallet card, and maybe sit and chat for a while. We’re also now selling IATX t-shirts — $20 cash!
Afternoon: Hearing on House “alternative” to SB 6 “bathroom bill”
From our friends at Equality Texas:
The Texas House Committee on State Affairs will hear witness testimony on HB2899, a proposed House alternative to the SB6 “bathroom bill,” on Wednesday, April 19th, starting in the afternoon in the John H. Reagan Office Building Room JHR 140 in the Capitol complex.
Read the proposed Committee Substitute to HB2899 here.
To be clear, this bill being promoted as an alternative to SB 6 by Texas lawmakers is unacceptable. CSHB 2899 is discriminatory and will leave thousands of transgender Texans without protections and vulnerable to harassment and violence.
There are many ways to voice your opposition to HB2899. Two important ways are through social media and through testimony at the public hearing. For social media, we ask throughout the day that you use #StopHB2899 and #YallMeansAll when posting to Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media app in order to create more advocacy noise. Read more to find out how to give public testimony on Wednesday.
Thursday, April 20
3:30 p.m. Kids’ Climate Action
Gather kids between 3:30 and 4:00 on April 20th at the member of Congress’s office. Kids should bring prepared crafts, signs, and letters that they can read aloud and then leave with the member of congress or staffer.
Please see our Kids’ Climate Action toolkit for details.
6 to 8 p.m. Indivisible Austin Coffee Meetup
Cafe Express, 3418 N Lamar Blvd
A casual weekly meet-up for Indivisible Austin members and interested parties. Drop by to say hello, meet some of the members, grab a bumper sticker and wallet card, and maybe sit and chat for a while. We’re also now selling IATX t-shirts — $20 cash!
Friday, April 21
Make plans to join tomorrow’s March for Science and the People’s Climate March on April 29.
Saturday, April 22 – Earth Day!
9 a.m. to noon. March for Science
From the organizer:
Hey, Austin! We’ll stand in solidarity with friends and allies around the world to support and defend all things SCIENCE!
Science is more than just important. We couldn’t live without it.
Here is the schedule of events:
9-11 a.m. – Teach-in on the Texas Capitol grounds
11 a.m.-Noon – Rally at the Texas Capitol
Noon – March from the Capitol to the Earth Day celebration at Huston-Tillotson University