Monday (April 3): Two phone-calling actions today—1 state, 1 federal, and both time-sensitive
Raise the Age
Top priority from our state legislative action team this week: Please call and support Raise-the-Age for all crimes. If you have time to make just one phone call, the governor would be the most effective # to call. Lawmakers are nearing the end of budget negotiations and this most crucial appropriation is in jeopardy of not being included. If you have time, please call one or more of the remaining phone numbers as well. Please push for this to be phased in as soon as possible. NY & NC are the only states that try 16 & 17 year olds as adults. More info here. Here are the numbers:
– Governor Andrew Cuomo: 1-518-474-8390
– Senate Majority Leader Flanagan: 518-455-2071; 613-361-2154
– Speaker of NYS Assembly Heastie: 518-455-4812; 718-654-6539
– IDC Leader Senator Klein: 518-455-3595; 718-822-2049
Support OSHA Funding
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health is encouraging members of Congress to sign on to a public letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, urging OSHA funding of at least $573.8 million for the coming fiscal year. We just got word of this, but the deadline for signing the letter is today, so please call Rep. Katko and urge him to do so. Katko’s numbers are 315-423-5657 (Syracuse), 315-253-4068 (Auburn), or 202-225-3701 (DC). As always, identify yourself as a constituent, tell a personal story if you have one, and be polite to congressional staff. More details here.
Tuesday (April 4): Two actions today—1 phone-calling and 1 in-person film screening and fund-raiser
Block Republican Takeover of the Supreme Court
Top news in Congress this week is the confirmation vote on Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to vote on the nomination Monday, and the full Senate is likely to vote sometime later in the week. Under current Senate rules, it requires 60 votes to end a filibuster on a Supreme Court nomination, which means that the 52 Republican Senators would either need the votes of at least 8 Democrats or would need to change the Senate rules. To date, 37 Democratic Senators have indicated plans to support a filibuster of the nomination, including both Schumer and Gillibrand. (Click here for a current whip list—i.e., a list of how each Senator is planning to vote.) Three Democratic Senators have indicated plans to vote in favor of confirmation. That leaves 8 whose stance is unclear; some of these 8 have said they will vote against confirmation, but have not indicated whether they will support a filibuster.
So, three recommended phone-calling actions today. Please do as many of them as you can:
- a) Call Sen. Schumer (202-224-6542 or 315-423-5471) and Gillibrand (202-224-4451 or 315-448-0470) and thank them for standing firm against Republican attempts to pack the Court;
- b) If you have friends or family in any of the following states, call them today and ask them to call their Democratic Senators and urge them to vote against cloture (i.e., to support a filibuster) on the Gorsuch nomination: California (Feinstein), Colorado (Bennet), Delaware (Coons), Maine (King), Maryland (Cardin), New Jersey (Menendez), Virginia (Warner), Vermont (Leahy);
- c) If you have friends or family in any states with Republican Senators, call them today and ask them to call their Senators and urge them not to change the Senate’s rules to allow confirmation with fewer than 60 votes. If Gorsuch can’t get 60 votes, the problem is with the nominee, not with the Senate’s 100-year old rules. More details here.
Film Screening/Fundraiser for CNY Solidarity and New Feminists for Justice
At 6:30pm, there will be a screening of the film 1984 at ArtRage, 505 Hawley Ave. in Syracuse, with proceeds from the $10 tickets to benefit New Feminists for Justice and CNY Solidarity. This is one of a number of coordinated screenings of 1984 nationwide today, including at least one other such screening in Syracuse (at the Palace Theater).
Wednesday (April 5)
Support NY voting rights
Please call your state senator, assembly member and the governor and ask that s/he support voting rights reform. If you want a script, try this: “I’m calling to express my full support for statewide voting reforms that would increase voter turnout and make our elections more accessible to more people. And it makes sense for the savings obtained by holding local/state/federal primaries all on one day be used to fund early voting, no-excuse absentee ballots, more accessible/readable ballots and automatic voter registrations at DMV with drivers’ license applications and renewals.” We’ve listed phone numbers here for the State Senators and Assembly Members who represent most of us, but if you’re not sure whose district you’re in,click here and enter your address to find out:
State Senator David Valesky: 315-478-8745
State Senator John DeFrancisco: 315-428-7632
Assembly Member William Magnarelli: 315-428-9651
Assembly Member Pamela Hunter: 315-449-9536
Assembly Member Al Stirpe: 315-452-1115
Governor Andrew Cuomo: 1-518-474-8390
Thursday (April 6): Two actions today—1 phone calling, 1 in-person
Don’t Let President Trump Start a Nuclear War
Please call Rep. Katko and urge him to sign on as co-sponsor of H.R. 669: Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act. This bill would prohibit the President from conducting a first-use nuclear strike in the absence of a congressional declaration of war. It currently has no Republican co-sponsors. For Republican members like Katko, who claim to be independent from the Trump administration, surely this is something they could get behind. More details here. Katko’s numbers are 315-423-5657 (Syracuse), 315-253-4068 (Auburn), or 202-225-3701 (DC). As always, identify yourself as a constituent, tell a personal story if you have one, and be polite to congressional staff.
Educate Yourself Re I-81 Replacement Options
Tonight at 6pm, there will be a DOT Forum on the I-81 replacement options at the Southside Innovation Center, 2610 S. Salina St. in Syracuse (just north of Dunk & Bright Furniture Store). For those who aren’t familiar with the history, when I-81 was initially build in the 1960s, the plans were implemented with minimal community input. The highway cut through the heart of the city, destroying neighborhoods and displacing nearly 1,300 African American households. Several design options for replacing the portion of I-81 that runs through Syracuse are currently on the table.
CNY Solidarity has not taken a position among the I-81 replacement options, but we encourage all members to educate themselves on the issue. Click here for recent commentary from NYCLU’s Rashida Richardson and Yusuf Abdul-Qadir; click here and here for reporting from last Fall on the planning process and details of some of the design proposals. If you can’t make it to the public forum, you can submit comments to i81input@pbworld.com, but the deadline is tomorrow, April 7.
Friday (April 7)
Demand Transparency Re Presidential Meetings
Please call Rep. Katko and urge him to sign on as co-sponsor of H.R. 1711: MAR-A-LAGO Act. This bill would mandate public release of visitor access records for White House and any other location where the President or Vice President regularly conduct official business. It currently has no Republican co-sponsors. For Republican members like Katko, who claim to be independent from the Trump administration, surely this is something they could get behind. More details here. Katko’s numbers are 315-423-5657 (Syracuse), 315-253-4068 (Auburn), or 202-225-3701 (DC). As always, identify yourself as a constituent, tell a personal story if you have one, and be polite to congressional staff.
Saturday (April 8): No actions today (at least until further notice!). Take the day for yourselves and your families. The Trump Administration thinks we will eventually get tired, burn out, and go home, but we’re not going to let that happen.
Sunday (April 9)
CNY Solidarity Coalition meeting
3-5pm, St. Lucy’s Church, 432 Gifford St, Syracuse, NY 13204. Everyone, please note the location.
Save the date for these upcoming events:
April 13, 6:30-8:30 pm: Oswego Town Hall, McCrobie Building, 41 Lake St. Organized by We the People: Oswego Indivisible. Rep. Katko has declined to attend. People are welcome to come from throughout the 24th Congressional District.
April 14: Sustaining Action: A Teach-In
April 22: March for Science—Syracuse
April 24: Roving University Teach-In on What to Expect in Trump’s America
April 29: People’s Climate March
May 1: Strike – Huelga Primero Mayo
Today and every day, be sure to follow us online and on social media!
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