CONGRESS MUST PROTECT OUR SAFETY NET
ACTION ONE: CALL YOUR SENATORS
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WYDEN AND MERKLEY:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
The proposed cuts to SNAP and the restrictive work requirements scheduled to go into effect on April first threaten hundreds of thousands more Americans with food insecurity. Converting Medicaid funding to block grants threatens the health of poor and disabled Americans. I am asking the Senator to continue to fight against this administration’s attacks on our safety net. Thank you.
CALL SENATOR MERKLEY
CALL SENATOR WYDEN
ACTION TWO: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS
Not sure who your U.S. Representative is? Find out here.
SAMPLE SCRIPTS FOR REPRESENTATIVES:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
All Representatives except Schrader and Walden:
The proposed cuts to SNAP and the restrictive work requirements scheduled to go into effect on April first threaten hundreds of thousands more Americans with food insecurity. Converting Medicaid funding to block grants threatens the health of poor and disabled Americans. I want to thank the Representative for voting for the resolution condemning the block grant plan. And I am asking him/her to continue to fight against this administration’s attacks on our safety net. Thank you.
For Schrader and Walden: The proposed cuts to SNAP and the restrictive work requirements scheduled to go into effect on April first threaten hundreds of thousands more Americans with food insecurity. Converting Medicaid funding to block grants threatens the health of poor and disabled Americans. I am disappointed that my representative voted against the resolution condemning the block grant plan. I am asking him to put the needs of his constituents over politics and to fight against this administration’s attacks on our safety net. Thank you.
CALL SUZANNE BONAMICI (OR-01)
CALL GREG WALDEN (OR-02)
CALL BLUMENAUER (OR-03)
CALL PETER DEFAZIO (OR-04)
CALL KURT SCHRADER (OR-05)
ACTION THREE: TAKE ACTION IN 2020
Plan to call Congress with Indivisible Oregon on a weekly basis.Set goals for your election work in 2020. Swing Left holds regular letter writing parties. You can sign up at: Take Action Now. If you are in the Portland area, join Indivisible Oregon letter writing parties with Swing Left/Vote Forward. You can also contribute to Swing Left Fundraiser. We are all in this together.
BACKGROUND:
(Background — Throwback Thursdays actions shifts the focus from the Trump outrage of the moment and remind us that the brutality imposed by his policies is ongoing daily.)
Trump’s 2021 budget, like every previous one, includes funding cuts that would strangle vital safety net programs.
His proposal would slash $182 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, over the next 10 years. It would gut many other programs assisting children, elderly and lower income Americans.
When attempted budget cuts fail, Trump uses policy changes. These are designed to restrict access to programs and add paperwork requirements, designed as obstacles, used to drop eligible recipients.
New more restrictive work requirements designed to limit access to SNAP go into effect April 1st. It’s expected that 700,000 people will be cut, and food banks are bracing for a sharp increase in people facing food insecurity.
Trump has never stopped trying to gut the Affordable Care Act. He now plans to convert Medicaid funds to block grants to states. It
As long as Trump is in power, our safety net is in danger. Congress must protect it.
