TAKE ACTION!
March 17, 2025
MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD!
Each week, we will work to provide you with a list of action items, usually phone calls, to be made to our members of Congress. All three of our representatives are in their first term (not entrenched) and so are vulnerable and more likely to listen.
To make it easier, please put their phone numbers in your phone. Also, if you reach a staff member, be polite and ask for their name(s) and make a note. We are trying to establish a relationship with the staff, again so our voices are heard.
Phone numbers:
Senator Fetterman: DC: 202-224-4254; Wilkes Barre: 570-820-4088; Philly: 215-241-1090
Senator McCormick: DC: 202-224-6324; Allentown: 610-782-9470
Rep. Bresnahan: DC: 202-225-5546; Scranton: 570-906-6850
We will do our best to provide a script for the calls but please add in any personal stories or impacts, especially as relates to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and immigration.
This week:
1. This is recess week for Congress. As of this posting, none of our representatives in Congress will host an in-person Town Hall. On Monday, you can join a group holding a "town hall" outside Sen. McCormick's office in Scranton. You can find details elsewhere on this Facebook page. Join if you can.
Rep. Bresnahan is holding a "telephone town hall" with no details yet provided. There is a post on this Facebook page.
Action: Call our representatives and tell them that you want an in-person Town Hall this week, while Congress is on Recess.
Script: My name is _______________ and I am a constituent calling from (zip). I am calling on my Rep/Senator to hold an in-person Town Hall during this week's Recess. As a constituent, I deserve to hear directly from my Rep/Senator on issues that are important to me. There has been a near complete sidelining of Congress by this administration and I want to hear what my Rep/Senator plans to do to take back the powers that belong to Congress, especially the power of the purse. When and where will the Town Hall be? Thank you.
2. This was on last week's action list but if you did not get to call. Please do:
Stop Trump's attempts to decimate our national parks/forests.
Trump signed an Executive Order “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production” this directive seeks “to fully exploit” our public forest lands for timber production and he put a timber executive in charge of the Forest Service. Call all our reps to stop this assault on our protected spaces.
Script: My name is ________ and I am a constituent calling from (zip). I am calling to express my outrage at Trump's Executive Orders calling for logging our protected national spaces. He is using the excuse of HIS tariffs on Canada to exploit our protected forests. First, DOGE fires the Park Rangers and now Trump puts a timber executive in charge of the Forest Service. Our national parks and forests were protected for a reason. The timber production order is, in reality, an unprecedented assault on science-based decision-making, environmental protections, wildlife, and the communities that depend on these forests for clean drinking water. By systematically dismantling safeguards and fast-tracking logging projects while at the same time eliminating resource specialists and other civil servants from agencies, Trump is taking steps towards his goal of gutting hard-won protections and handing our public lands over to industry. I need the Rep/Senator to speak out against this assault on our protected spaces. Congress has the power of the purse and must use it to stop this assault on our forests. Lawmakers can and must deny federal funding for the implementation of this destructive order and ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to subsidize the reckless dismantling of environmental protections.
3. Vote NO on Dr. Oz for CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
The CMS oversees Medicare, Medicaid, CHIPS (Children's Health Insurance Program) and the ACA marketplace. In his hearing on Friday, Dr. Oz would not rule out cuts to Medicaid. He also confirmed his promotion of green tea extract as a "miracle" weight loss drug was fraudulently marketed.
Script: I am calling to ask Sen. Fetterman/McCormick to vote NO on the confirmation of Dr. Oz as head of the CMS. He would not rule out cuts to Medicaid, which is a vital program in PA.
4. This was also on last week's list. The plan to shut down the phone lines was stopped as the result of pressure. Stop the attack on Social Security, please let the staffer know if you RELY on Social Security:
If your Republican Lawmaker Lies about SS
If your Republican Senator or Congressmember’s staffer says “[lawmaker’s name] would never support making cuts to Social Security” please use this script to respond.
I know he won’t support a frontal assault on Social Security, because he knows that would be highly unpopular. But does he support Elon Musk and DOGE?
They are defunding the Social Security Administration, cutting thousands of jobs there, and shutting down huge numbers of offices. People working within the SSA, as well as its former administrator, are warning that we could see the entire system collapse within 30-90 days. So please stop telling me that the Senator/Congressmember doesn’t support cutting Social Security. Until they take action to get Elon Musk and DOGE out of our government that is a lie. Thanks.
Mark your calendars. Saturday, April 5, there will be a nationwide demonstration called "Hands Off" to tell Trump and Musk that we have the power to stop them. We will keep you apprised of where you can join a people powered demonstration. You can learn more at https://handsoff2025.com/
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