39 weeks to Midterm Elections
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 1: Stop congressional insider trading.
- Action 2: Enforce the 4th Amendment and end government surveillance.
- Action 3: Restore voting rights to people in prison.
In this edition of the AoC Checklist:
- Senate actions: What we’re contacting our senators about.
- House actions: What we’re contacting our House reps about.
- Action 1: Stop congressional insider trading.
- Action 2: Enforce the 4th Amendment and end government surveillance.
- Action 3: Restore voting rights to people in prison.
- Action 4: Ensure that you’re registered to vote in your state’s primary elections.
- Action 5: Advocate for identity-affirming opportunities for transgender youth athletes.
- Action 6: Encourage the investment of state recovery funds into long-term equity initiatives.
- Action 7: Advocate for meaningful climate action.
- Action 8: Call for the protection of public waters from destructive drilling practices.
- Action 9: Hold the president accountable to his campaign promises of a welcoming and inclusive nation.
- Action 10: Advocate for the rights and dignity of our Muslim neighbors.
- Say Thanks: Acts of Gratitude
- Check out Good News from around the nation
- How you can support and share the AoC Checklist
Contact your senators
Check the box if you made contact–whether for one issue or all–so we can count your action. Contacting your senators’ staffers with multiple concerns is more efficient for both of you. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Your script: Hi, I’m from [ZIP] calling/writing about several issues. I’d like Sen. [NAME] to:
- Support S. 142, the Global Health, Empowerment and Rights Act, to advance gender equality worldwide by providing stability for family-planning NGOs. [Source: SisterSong]
- Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act with strong Tribal provisions under H.R. 1620. [Sources: AKNWRC, National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, National Congress of American Indians]
- Pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (S. 1975) to ensure the right to receive medical care without barriers. [Source: The Leadership Conference]
- Expand Medicaid’s Home and Community-Based Services so people with disabilities experiencing homelessness can access services to make life in housing a reality. [Source: End Homelessness]
- Prioritize once-in-a-generation affordable-housing investments in the Build Back Better and Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations bills. [Source: End Homelessness]
- Support S. 3494: Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act and S. 3504: Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act.
- Pass the Protecting Election Administration from Interference Act of 2021 (S. 2626) to protect election workers from violent threats and strengthen election security. [Source: AoCC]
- Co-sponsor H.R. 5227, the LIFT the BAR Act, to eliminate barriers to critical federal care and aid for tax-paying aspiring Americans. [Source: All* Above All]
Contact your House representative
Check the box if you made contact–whether for one issue or all–so we can count your action. Contacting your representative’s staffers with multiple concerns is more efficient for both of you. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.
Look up your House representative here.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Your script: Hi, I’m from [ZIP] calling/writing about several issues. I’d like Rep. [NAME] to:
- Support H.R. 556, the Global Health, Empowerment and Rights Act to advance global gender equality by providing stability for family-planning NGOs. [Source: SisterSong]
- Support H.R. 336: TRUST in Congress Act and H.R. 6490: Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act. [Source: AoCC]
- Pass the Protecting Election Administration from Interference Act of 2021 (H.R. 5053) to protect election workers from violent threats and strengthen election security. [Source: AoCC]
- Co-sponsor H.R. 5227, the LIFT the BAR Act, to eliminate barriers to critical federal care and aid for tax-paying aspiring Americans. [Source: All* Above All]
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: Stop congressional insider trading.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact:
Nancy Pelosi (House Speaker)
Phone: (202) 225-4965
1236 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Chuck Schumer (Senate Majority Leader)
Phone: (202) 224-6542
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Script: I value democracy and oppose corruption, so I support an end to congressional insider trading. The [HOUSE SPEAKER/SENATE MAJORITY LEADER] sets the ethical bar for our nation. While Americans struggled, 54 elected officials profited from non-public information, and senators’ holdings typically outperform the market. Previous laws have proven toothless and allowed Congress to cash in on the housing market crash and pandemic. I urge you to support proposed legislation requiring members of Congress and their families to divest or put stocks into a blind trust. Thank you.
Action 2: Enforce the 4th Amendment and end government surveillance.
Source: Brennan Center
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Write: The chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees (Note: in their capacity as committee leaders, these members of Congress work for all Americans, not just their constituents, so address your letter to them as committee officials).
The Honorable Dick Durbin
Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Chuck Grassley
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Jerry Nadler
Chair, House Judiciary Committee
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Jim Jordan
Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee
2142 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Script: I am joining more than 50 civil rights groups in urging you to hold hearings on the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (H.R. 2738, S. 1265). This bipartisan bill will prevent the government from accessing Americans’ private information without a search warrant simply by buying location data and other types of sensitive information from data brokers. This practice evades our 4th Amendment protection from unlawful searches. Please schedule hearings on this important bill in the 2022 session. Thank you.
Action 3: Restore voting rights to people in prison.
Source: The Sentencing Project
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
If you live in any state except ME or VT: Contact your state legislators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] calling to ask you to follow the lead of Maine and Vermont, and pass legislation that restores voting rights to people currently in prison. More than five million Americans are denied the right to vote because of felony convictions, and people in prison represent about 25% of that number. Every citizen deserves the right to cast a ballot. Thank you.
If you live in ME or VT, yours is one of the only two states that already allow eligible people in prison to vote. Thank your Secretary of State or Donate to the Sentencing Project here.
Action 4: Ensure that you’re registered to vote in your state’s primary elections.
Source: League of Women Voters
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
The 2022 primary elections are nearly here. Check your voter registration status at Vote411.org, and use Ballotpedia to look up your state’s primary election dates and see who will be on your ballot for Congress and state offices.
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.
Action 5: Advocate for identity-affirming opportunities for transgender youth athletes.
Sources: ACLU, ACLU of Indiana, Human Rights Campaign
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your STATE legislators (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] in opposition to any legislation that restricts and excludes transgender youth from participating in sports. Sports provide opportunities for young people to learn leadership, teamwork, self-esteem, discipline, and community, and reinforce acceptance and camaraderie among peers. I’m asking [NAME] to oppose harmful trans-exclusionary policies and ensure [STATE] supports the well-being and safety of all youth, regardless of how they identify.
Bonus: Use the map at the bottom of the Legislative Tracker on Youth Sports Bans to select your state and mention your opposition to that specific legislation, if applicable.
Action 6: Encourage the investment of state recovery funds into long-term equity initiatives.
Sources: Wesley Tharpe, CenterOnBudget
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your STATE legislators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m contacting you from [ZIP], advocating for long-term investments in a more equitable future. Instead of using our federal relief funds for tax cuts or one-time projects, we can work to reduce racial and economic inequities through subsidized job programs, affordable housing initiatives, behavioral health services, high-poverty school aid, and more. I’m asking [NAME] to use [STATE]’s recovery funds to invest in new or expanded initiatives that improve the lives of people in low-income communities.
Action 7: Advocate for meaningful climate action.
Source: NRDC
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 or at President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20500.
Script: Hello, I’m writing from [STATE] to express my concern for the future of our shared planet. As you know, we are currently deep in a climate emergency, and the U.S. must take immediate action to avoid climate catastrophe. I am asking your administration to reduce emissions by at least 50% by the end of the decade, and pass strong legislation that:
- includes meaningful climate action,
- creates high-quality clean energy jobs,
- supports communities that have historically been hit first and worst by climate impacts,
- ensures safe, lead-free drinking water for all,
- cleans up dirty power plants, and
- accelerates our transition to a 100% clean-energy future.
Thank you.
Action 8: Call for the protection of public waters from destructive drilling practices.
Source: Indigenous Environmental Network
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 or at President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20500; and Secretary Haaland at The Honorable Deb Haaland, Secretary, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [STATE] in support of an end to offshore drilling. At a time when the climate crisis is nearing catastrophe, we must protect our public waters from the destruction of oil and gas drilling, which disproportionately harms low-income communities and communities of color. To protect the nation from catastrophic climate impacts, and to ensure this administration continues to meet its historic commitments to environmental and racial justice, I am joining climate and environmental justice organizations in urging you to:
- immediately reject the bids or suspend the offshore leases under Lease Sale 257 in the Gulf of Mexico,
- stop all remaining offshore lease sales planned in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, and
- issue a new five-year offshore lease plan that includes no new leases after the current five-year plan expires this year.
Thank you.
Action 9: Hold the president accountable to his campaign promises of a welcoming and inclusive nation.
Source: United We Dream
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] to express my continued support for compassionate immigration reform. Nationwide, millions of aspiring Americans—many of whom have risked their lives as essential workers throughout this pandemic to keep us safe, fed, and healthy—continue to live with the threat of detention and deportation. I’m calling on you to honor your campaign promises and protect immigrant communities by establishing a constitutional asylum system and providing a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million aspiring Americans in our communities.
Action 10: Advocate for the rights and dignity of our Muslim neighbors.
Source: No Muslim Ban Ever
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: President Biden and Vice President Harris via the White House contact form.
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [STATE] to express my concern at the lack of progress following the repeal of the so-called Muslim Ban. In the five years since the previous administration’s ban on immigrants from majority-Muslim countries, countless aspiring Americans have been denied asylum, immigration interviews, or work or medical visas, and many families separated by the order have yet to be reunited. It is crucial that the Biden-Harris administration fulfill its promise to right the wrongs of the previous administration’s racially-driven travel bans and use the full extent of your authority to:
- Issue clear guidance regarding the next steps for applicants denied under the Muslim and African Bans,
- Immediately and automatically reconsider, reopen, and expedite all immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications subject to the Muslim and African Bans that have not yet been granted, including those denied between FY17 and FY20,
- Grant humanitarian parole to those who won the diversity visa lottery from FY17 through FY22, and
- Issue State Department guidance to all consular staff that makes clear that unifying families is a core element of the State Department’s mission.
Acts of Gratitude
Signatures to the forms below will be printed with a letter of thanks from Americans of Conscience, and mailed to the recipient 2 weeks after the Checklist publication date. Your information will not be stored after that date.
Thank NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci for his steadfast commitment to public health in the face of personal attacks.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: Office of the Director, NIAID Office of Communications and Government Relations, 5601 Fishers Lane, MSC 9806, Bethesda, MD 20892-9806
Thank Rep. Grace Meng (D–NY) for introducing legislation to make Lunar New Year a federal holiday.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 2209 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515
Good News
As Americans of Conscience, we celebrate!
Tribal
- Hundreds of Native American tribes disproportionately impacted by the opioid epidemic will receive a $665 million settlement from major opioid distributors.
- The ten tribes of the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council regain control of Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ (Fish Run Place), part of North America’s ancient redwood forests.
National
- The Biden administration raises the minimum wage for federal employees to $15.
- President Biden signs an executive order implementing a Buy Clean policy and other government efforts to slow and reverse climate change.
- Via executive order, President Biden formally makes sexual harassment in the U.S. military a crime.
- USDA increases rates for school lunch budgets.
- USDA issues new rules and funding to support independent meat processors and ranchers and curb exploitative tactics by large meat and poultry companies.
- FDA officially approves Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 18 years and older.
- HUD provides funding to state and local government agencies and nonprofits to protect children and families from home health hazards.
- HUD sells over 800 government-owned properties to homeownership nonprofits rather than large investors.
- Interior Dept. cancels two improperly renewed hardrock mineral leases adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in MN.
- DOJ and 35 states file suit against Apple for violating antitrust laws.
- Treasury Dept. enacts transparency rules for shell companies in order to limit illegal and corrupt actions.
- Federal court invalidates a gulf oil and gas lease due to the projected negative climate impact.
- Federal prosecutors charge an individual with threatening election and other government officials in GA.
- The National Archives compile and release to the public records related to requests for presidential records by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
State
- AL: Court blocks the state’s newly drawn congressional map for violating the Voting Rights Act.
- CA: Gov. Gavin Newsom takes steps to dismantle the nation’s largest death row prison and shift the state’s focus to rehabilitation.
- NJ requires Asian American history to be taught in public schools.
- RI enacts bills to address the opioid crisis through the decriminalization of buprenorphine and other measures.
- WI: Appeals court reinstates ballot drop boxes in time for the state’s February primary election.
Local
- Richmond, CA city council secures a deal to stop exporting coal and petcoke from the city’s shipping terminal.
Corporate/business
- Pfizer and BioNtech initiate a clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Omicron variant-specific COVID-19 vaccines for adults aged 18-55.
- Farming conglomerate Monsanto pleads guilty to pesticide-related crimes and will pay $12 million in fines.
Groups and organizations
- Local non-profit Saba Grocers Initiative helps Oakland convenience and liquor store owners increase communities’ access to healthy foods.
- Ford Foundation launches a grant program focused on advancing disability rights.
- The Southern Border Communities Coalition urges Congress to investigate alleged shadow police units who violate human rights laws and cover up wrongdoing by U.S. Border Patrol.
- Over 1,300 doctors, healthcare professionals, and scientists sign an open letter to Spotify urging the platform to address and prevent the spread of medical, vaccine, and other scientific misinformation.
- U.N. passes a resolution condemning any denial of the Holocaust and urges all nations and social media companies “to take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial or distortion.”
- Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance distributes 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses across 144 countries, among other vaccinations.
News with heart
- Indigenous chefs create virtual cookbook“A Gathering Basket,” rooted in the cultivation of Indigenous food sovereignty.
- Dr. Cynthia Chavez Lamar (San Felipe Pueblo, maternal ancestry of Hopi, Tewa, and Navajo) is appointed director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, becoming the first Native woman to hold the position.
- Jess T. Dugan’s To Survive On This Shore project explores the lives of older members of the trans community, highlighting stories rarely heard in mainstream media.
- Central Michigan University mistakenly told 58 students they had won full rides, but will pay their tuition anyway.
- Dayvon Johnson, 11, saves a choking classmate and rescues a woman from a house fire on the same day.
- 8-year-old Dillon Helbig writes and illustrates a book, sneaks it onto a shelf in his local library, and it now has a waitlist of 55.
- Victoria Gray lives without sickle cell disease symptoms a year after receiving CRISPR gene therapy.
- 136 countries will enforce a corporate tax rate of at least 15%.
- Australia’s First Day, a TV show about trans teen Hannah’s high school experience, wins the International Kids Emmy for best live-action series.
- Fishermen made plans to peacefully disrupt Russian military exercises in Irish fishing grounds; with tactful diplomacy, Russia withdrew.
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Housekeeping
- Jen’s message: Read this week’s Inspiring Message.
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Thank you! I took 4 actions today.
Thank YOU, Jennifer! Be sure to click the checkboxes when complete. This lets us know what kind of impact we’re having toward our goal of a kind and thriving nation. Be well!