93 weeks to the presidential election
The AoC Checklist features clear, well-researched actions for Americans who value democracy, equality, voting, and decency. We are a big tent for all people who want a kinder, flourishing nation.
If you only have 10 minutes, take our top three suggested actions:
- Action 4: Insist that police stop ignoring hate crimes.
- Action 2: Oppose a drastic increase in immigration and citizenship fees.
- Action 1: Advocate for a bipartisan vote to raise the debt ceiling.
In this edition of the AoC Checklist:
- Action 1: Advocate for a bipartisan vote to raise the debt ceiling.
- Action 2: Oppose a drastic increase in immigration and citizenship fees.
- Action 3: Encourage newly eligible young people to register to vote.
- Action 4: Insist that police stop ignoring hate crimes.
- Action 5: Advocate for the safe welcome of asylum seekers.
- Say Thanks: Acts of Gratitude
- Check out Good News from around the nation
- How you can support and share the AoC Checklist
I value democracy
With respect and collaboration, we work to create a nation that welcomes all people, expands freedoms, and upholds the Constitution. Each citizen must be able to freely and fairly elect those who represent their values.
Action 1: Advocate for a bipartisan vote to raise the debt ceiling.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Call or email your House representative (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a constituent from [ZIP] calling to ask you to vote to raise the debt ceiling. This common-sense measure does not authorize new government spending or cost taxpayers money, it simply allows our nation to honor its existing debt agreements. The U.S. has never before defaulted on its debt payments, and, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, “Failure to meet the government’s obligations would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability.” Can I count on [NAME] to vote YES on H.R. 187? Thank you.
Action 2: Oppose a drastic increase in immigration and citizenship fees.
Source: Mi Familia Vota
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Submit a public comment opposing the plan by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to raise many of the immigration and naturalization fees the agency charges to applicants. While some fee waivers would stay in place, the average fee would rise 40%, with some fees increasing by more than 100%, disproportionately affecting working-class families. Leave a unique message of opposition, including how increased fees would impact you and those you know. The 60-day public comment period ends March 6.
Action 3: Encourage newly eligible young people to register to vote.
Source: The Civics Center
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Approximately 10,000 Americans turn 18 each day. While more Americans aged 18-24 registered to vote in 2022 compared to 2018, the rate of voter registration among 18-19 year olds has fallen by 5%. Remind your young friends that registering to vote gives them a voice in crucial local issues like housing costs, community policing, reproductive rights, and education.
Text: Send a text encouraging your friends under 20 to register to vote with TurboVote (include the TurboVote link in your text).
I value equality
Support the dignity of your rainbow of neighbors from every religion, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, age, and ability. We also support policies that show welcome to aspiring Americans and decency to people seeking refuge.
Action 4: Insist that police stop ignoring hate crimes.
Source: Southern Poverty Law Center
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: President Biden via the White House contact form.
Script: Hi. I’m contacting you from [STATE] because I’m concerned about the lack of comprehensive hate crime reporting from law enforcement agencies nationwide. Enforcing participation in the FBI’s National Incident Based Reporting System is essential to gathering data necessary to create solutions and save lives. Until legislation can be enacted, I urge you to support mandatory reporting by conditioning federal funding on credible hate crime reporting or meaningful community hate crime prevention and awareness initiatives.
Action 5: Advocate for the safe welcome of asylum seekers.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Call: Your House representative (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m calling from [ZIP] to oppose H.R. 29, the Border Safety and Security Act, which proposes to seal off all U.S. points of entry to asylum seekers. We have a constitutional obligation to protect those seeking refuge, and this bill directly contradicts our international agreements on asylum. I’m joining the 250 immigrant-rights organizations urging you to vote NO on H.R. 29. The U.S. has a moral duty to expand asylum opportunities to people fleeing life-threatening situations in their home countries.
Acts of Gratitude
We believe in gratitude as a tool for change. We will print a letter of thanks from Americans of Conscience with your signature and mail it to the recipient. Your information will be removed from this website no later than four weeks after the Checklist’s publication date.
Thank Mayor Muriel Bowser (D–DC) for signing legislation protecting the right to bodily autonomy in the realms of abortion, contraception, sexual activity, intimate relationships, and gender affirmation.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004
Thank CA state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) for introducing recently passed legislation protecting kids and families seeking gender-affirming healthcare in California from out-of-state legal threats.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 1021 O Street, Suite 6630, Sacramento, CA 95814
Good News
If you find good news for democracy, equality, and the planet, share it with us here!
Progress on issues previously featured in the Checklist
- AG Garland directs federal prosecutors to use their criminal charging discretion to reduce unnecessary incarceration.
- The 2022 elections saw the second-highest midterm voter turnout since 2002, according to United States Election Project data.
- SC Supreme Court strikes down a state ban on certain abortions, finding the ban in violation of the SC constitution.
- NY passes landmark environmental legislation aiming to reduce the cumulative impacts of pollution on disadvantaged communities.
National
- Congress passes and the president signs the Justice for Victims of War Crimes Act, which enables U.S. courts to prosecute perpetrators of war crimes present in the U.S. regardless of their nationality or where the crime took place.
- The EPA offers $100 million in grants for projects to address environmental inequities, the largest-ever offering of this kind.
- People from Somalia residing in the U.S. can remain without threat of deportation for an additional 18 months, through September 2024.
- Under new DHS guidance, workers can report abusive employers without threats of retaliation or deportation.
- Dept. of the Interior renames locations across the country that previously used a racial slur for Indigenous women.
- The new 988 Mental Health Crisis Hotline has fielded over two million inquiries since opening six months ago.
- Biden Administration implements “Welcome Corps,” a new program that allows private citizens to support refugees’ transition to life in the United States.
State
- MD: A portrait of Thurgood Marshall replaces that of a likely enslaver in the state senate building.
- MI’s citizen-created redistricting map remains in use after a federal court dismisses a lawsuit challenging it.
- California joins the effort to lower insulin prices, following the lead of Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota and Mississippi.
- Across the country, states are using a “proven, promising path” to restore and safeguard the right to abortion and bodily autonomy.
Local
- Los Angeles bans the drilling of new oil and gas wells.
- Wes More is sworn in and becomes Maryland’s first Black governor.
- New York City’s tree canopies, shrubs, and lawns cover nearly 35 percent of the city and take up as much as 40 percent of the human-caused carbon emissions, study finds.
Corporate/business
- Efforts to preserve the privacy and physical autonomy of women and people with a uterus is shifting from abortion clinics to local pharmacies, empowering millions.
- Dalia Stasevska, New York Philharmonic director, raises money and sends supplies to her homeland of Ukraine.
- The contributions of Marcela Guerrero, the first Puerto Rican curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, are highlighted in a recent NYT article.
- Two drug companies seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration for gene therapies that may provide a long-awaited cure for sickle-cell anemia.
- Connecticut Green Bank invests $120 million in green energy projects including solar panel installation, weatherization, appliance replacements, and asbestos remediation.
Groups and organizations
- Communities nationwide join the Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming Schools program for its annual National Day of Reading: A Celebration of Stories Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Youth.
- BIPOC trans femmes can apply to learn public health advocacy skills through the Human Rights Campaign’s ELEVATE fellowship.
- Black Girl Brown Girl Collective in South Phoenix are building a community of women artists of color.
News with heart
- Community allies gather in solidarity with and celebration of a drag story hour at a branch of the Queens Library.
- A farmer anonymously donates thousands over his life to cover neighbors’ prescriptions at local pharmacy.
- Hakim’s Bookstore, Philadelphia’s first Black-owned bookstore, receives a historical marker.
- 27 African American sites in Natchez, MS will receive historical markers during a ceremony planned for Black History Month.
- Jilea and Jamie Hemmings open Nourish + Bloom Market, the world’s first Black-owned autonomous grocery store.
- Sydney-Marie Flowers, 16, is scheduled to receive her private pilot’s license this school year, joining an elite group of Black women pilots.
- South Africa is planning to quit coal and transition to solar and wind power without undermining economic growth, creating a template for other nations to follow.
- National Park Service ranger, Rebekah Smith, leads “Black People Don’t Do That,” a program supporting Black Americans in reclaiming their rightful place in natural spaces.
- “Reminiscence Therapy” gives older adults a virtual reality experience to relive the past and boost well-being.
- Molly Sampson, 9, finds an ancient fossilized megalodon tooth in the Chesapeake Bay.
- A rare snowy owl captivates the residents of Cypress, CA.
Need inspiration?
- Read this week’s inspiring message from Julia Figliotti, AoCC volunteer: Work Worth Doing.
- What we need to succeed in 2023
- What we’re hopeful for in 2023
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